The Key
by Brittany Bright
Summary: Jennifer lands smack dab in the middle of Hyrule, only to witness the rise of the greatest threat the land has ever faced. Does Jennifer hold the key to saving a world?
1. Smarty Tights

**Hello all.**

**This is my first ever fanfic. Yikes! Not the first time I've ever written anything, natch, but definitely the first time I've shared anything I've written with an audience. Enjoy!**

**P.S. This takes place some years after The Ocarina of Time, I guess.**

**P.P.S. If I have anything wrong canon-wise, please let me know. It's been a little while since I've played OoT!**

**P.P.P.S. The rating is for some mild language and possible graphic (not sexual, unfortunately) content in future chapters.**

**P.P.P.P.S. Do I have enough postscripts?**

**Disclaimer: Any characters, places, events, etc. from the Legend of Zelda do not belong to me. As much as I wish I owned Link (who wouldn't? he's delicious) I don't own him either. Any copyrighted, trademarked stuff I mention (i.e. Medieval Times, The Princess Bride, etc.) do not belong to me either. Any characters, places, events, etc. you don't recognize are mine, all mine. Please, lawyers, don't sue me, I am but a poor college student!**

**Alright, that's it, now on with the show!**

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The Key

Chapter One:

"Smarty Tights"

MEEEEEEEEEEP. MEEEEEEEEEEP. MEEEEEEEEEEEP. THWACK.

Jennifer savagely hit the snooze button. Mondays were the worst. After giving a sleepy grunt, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She padded to the bathroom, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Jennifer looked in the mirror. Not a good view. Her dirty blond hair was a wild mess, cowlicks galore. She turned on the shower and hopped in, letting the warm water slowly wake her up. She was definitely not a morning person.

She was late to her first class. Again. Jennifer sheepishly walked in and took a desk near the back. Her professor frowned at her, but this was college, after all. No one took roll anymore, for which Jennifer was truly grateful. In fact, no one ever really paid her attention. It was as if all that aggressive recruiting to get "diverse and unique students" was only to get butts in the seats. The university didn't care whether you went to class or not, just so long as you paid your tuition. But nevertheless, college was a rewarding and exciting experience to Jennifer. Though she had only been attending for a few months, it was if she had spent her whole life there. There were the cute boys, frat parties, interesting classes, and… cute boys. Jennifer was relishing in the college experience; she finally had her independence. Sweet, sweet independence. That, to her, was the icing on the cake… and most of the cake, too.

"Alright, I'll see you all on Wednesday," the professor called over the sudden din of students packing up and shuffling out. Jennifer grabbed her books and headed for the door.

She bumped into someone in the doorframe.

"Sorry," she said, and looked up. He stopped speaking in the middle of an apology as their eyes met. Jennifer got a very strange feeling of déjà vu. He looked very familiar, and very handsome, too. Jennifer flushed and continued on her way. Keeping her eyes down, she thought about how weird it was that she felt they had met before. She shrugged it off; they had probably met at a party somewhere.

By lunch, she still hadn't shaken the guy's image from her brain.

"Jen," a voice said from right next to her. Jennifer nearly leaped from the bench.

"Anna! Jeez, you scared the crap outta me." Jennifer rose from the bench.

"Hey, I called you, like, fifty times, and you didn't answer me," Anna said, exasperated. "You went all ADD on me."

"Sorry."

"What were you thinking about, anyway?" They started to make their way towards East Commons, and lunch.

"Nothing," Jennifer replied.

But it wasn't nothing. Jennifer was preoccupied all day. Anna finally gave up and chalked it up to her "being Jennifer". Jennifer, on the other hand, didn't give up. Even as she lay down to sleep, she still thought about that guy. Who was he? Why was he so familiar? She rolled over, annoyed, and closed her eyes.

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"_…moving quicker than we thought._"

"_It is too soon._"

"_I know, but we have no choice._"

"_This complicates matters._"

There were multiple sighs as three of the most beautiful women Jennifer had ever seen looked down at her. Jennifer took them in with half-open eyes. She felt groggy and strangely detached, like she was floating on a cloud. Around her, everything was hazy, though she could see the women clearly. One of the beautiful women frowned, noticing that she was awake.

"_We must send her now._"

And with that, Jennifer was wide awake, standing in the middle of wide, open field. A sea of grass surrounded her on all sides, blowing in a gentle wind. Just as she was getting her balance and her bearings, a horse suddenly ran past her, making her cry out.

To add insult to injury, the horses' hooves sprinkled her with mud. She looked down; the mud was everywhere, and the hem of her jeans was coated in it.

"Thanks a lot, jerk-off!" She called after the rider of the horse, who, she noticed, had slowed the horse down and was turning it back towards her.

Jennifer wrung her hands, fuming. They were in a huge ass field, and he had to run his damn horse right next to her! And who rides a horse anymore anyways!

"I am so very sorry," the rider said, dismounting.

"Yeah, well, you should be. Ugh! I hate mud."

"I apologize. I did not see you."

"Didn't see me, are you—" Jennifer looked up into a very male face, a very handsome male face. The young man seemed startled by her sudden silence.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he asked, all concern.

"No, I'm fine," she said, a little sulkily. "Just muddy."

He turned, and Jennifer thought she saw a small twinkle of amusement in his eye. She narrowed her eyes at him, but the look of anger was replaced by one of puzzlement. She noticed that he appeared to be wearing some very strange clothes. He had a long green shirt, what looked like white pantyhose, and a sword buckled at his waist.

"Where are you going?" His voice broke her from her perplexed examination of him. She realized that he was looking her up and down as well, though he managed to hide most of his confusion at her attire. Most of it, anyways.

"Uh… that's a good question," she said, biting her lower lip. "You see, it might be helpful if I knew where I was first."

He looked at her with large blue eyes filled with bewilderment. "You are in the land of Hyrule."

"Ah, I see. Well, where are you going?"

"To the village of Kakariko."

"And where is that?"

He pointed in the direction he was originally heading. "The sun is beginning to set. If you wish, I could take you to Kakariko."

"What happens when the sun sets?" Jennifer asked, more than a little wary of hopping on the horse of a strange guy in tights—even if he was handsome.

"It is dark."

She rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

He looked very puzzled by her. "When darkness falls in Hyrule Field, monsters appear. I could not leave you to their mercy."

"Oh."

"Please, I insist." He motioned towards his horse. "It is the very least I can do."

He proffered his hand. Jennifer looked warily at his hand, then his face. He seemed sincere enough. Realizing she could be standing here all day if she didn't make a decision, Jennifer decided to trust him.

"Alright, but you better not take me to the Overlook Hotel," she said.

Jennifer had very little experience his horses, but at least she vaguely recalled how to mount one. She stuck a foot in the saddle, and with a little help from the young man, was able to scramble onto the horse reasonably well. She squirmed a little in her seat as he mounted in front of her.

"Hold tightly," he said, and the horse suddenly jumped into a gallop.

Jennifer nearly tumbled off the back of the horse, but managed to throw her arms around the man's midriff just in time. Hyrule Field flew by. Jennifer held on for dear life as the horse sped across the field.

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"Jeez, you scared the crap outta me."

The young man finally slowed down when they reached the entrance to the village. The sun had nearly set by that time. Kakariko was a fairly large village in Jennifer's estimation. Men, women, and children were milling about, wrapping up their days and preparing for the evening. Light spilled out of the windows and doors of the houses. Chickens ran about, villagers frantically trying to catch them. Jennifer, still behind the young man on the horse, watched all this with fascination. It was all so—she couldn't find a better word—quaint. When the young man finally stopped in front of an inn, Jennifer quickly slid down the side of the horse, not even bothering to wait for the young man to help.

"Do you have a place to stay?" he asked.

"Um, no."

"As I thought." He sighed.

"Hey, don't _sigh_ at me." She waved a finger in the air. "This isn't my fault, you know. I've just had the worst day of my _life_. I don't know where I am or how I got here and I'm covered in mud and—"

"Alright," he said soothingly. "Forgive me if I have caused you distress." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Please, go inside, and I will see what I can do."

He gestured to the door to the inn and Jennifer stamped inside. A boy came to take the young man's horse. He flipped the boy a coin and followed her inside, where they sat down at the bar. Jennifer looked around, staring. Everything about this place, from the buildings to the clothing, seemed so _off_. Not to mention the fact that everything was a Medieval Times rip-off.

"Would you like anything?" the young man asked.

"Diet Soda, please."

Both the bartender and the young man looked quizzically at her.

"Regular's alright, then." The bartender looked at Jennifer like she was a madwoman. She slumped her shoulders. "Water's fine," she said dejectedly. How could they not have heard of soda?

The young man nodded at the bartender and turned towards her. "I have told you we are in Hyrule—"

"That's the problem, I have never heard of Hyrule. Ever," she said.

"Then, how did you get here?"

"I dunno."

"How could you not know?"

"I dunno!"

The young man sighed.

"There you are sighing again," she said, annoyed. "Look, I went to sleep in my room and then, all of the sudden, I was standing out there in that damn field of yours, almost being run over by horses." She crossed her arms. "Try to explain that, smarty tights."

He seemed puzzled by the last comment, or maybe it was just because of Jennifer in general. "I cannot explain that."

"Exactly." She turned back towards the bar, and took a big gulp of water. She suddenly felt exhausted with the whole ordeal.

"At least let me help you."

"Please. I don't even know your name."

"I am Link."

"Link? Your name is Link?" she asked, disbelieving.

"Yes," he said, drawing out the word long and slow as if she was a dolt.

"It's, uh, a, um… very unusual name."

"What is your name?"

"Jennifer."

"That is—as you would say—an unusual name, as well."

Jennifer frowned. "It's not that unusual, actually, it's quite popular for kids my age." Where was she?

They both stared at each other for a long moment, both sets of eyes cautiously sizing up their owners. Jennifer turned away from his gaze.

"Where are you from?" Link asked curiously.

"San Diego," she said. He raised his eyebrows slightly. "It's in California." He still didn't appear to get it. "Um, The United States… North America, Planet Earth." He still looked confused. "Have you been living under a rock your whole life?" She raised an eyebrow. "Or just a Renaissance Faire?"

"I have never heard of these places," he said finally.

"Neither have I," the bartender chimed in, surprising both Jennifer and Link. He continued solemnly, "And I thought I had heard everything." With that, he shook his head and walked into a back room behind the bar, leaving the Jennifer starting after him.

"What odd people," she murmured under her breath.

"You need help," Link said firmly. "That much I see."

"Hey, I am perfectly sane," Jennifer shot back. "At least I'm not wearing a skirt."

This seemed to convince Link of exactly the opposite she intended. He called for the bartender, who stuck his head out from the doorway.

"Two rooms, please." Link grabbed her arm, and began to lead her up the stairs. "You need rest. Tomorrow, I will take you to see the queen. Perhaps she will see something I cannot."

Jennifer's eyebrows furrowed at the mention of a queen. These people truly were odd, but she was too exhausted with everything to protest.

Link opened the door to her room and she brushed past him to walk into the room. It was simple—a bed, a side table, and an armoire. Jennifer relaxed her shoulders and exhaled deeply.

"Good night," Link said, closing the door.

"Hey, Link," Jennifer said, turning towards him. His ears perked up. They were pointed. Jennifer shrugged this tidbit off for the moment. He deserved a thank you—and an apology—first.

"Thanks," she said finally. "You know, for everything…. Well, except the mud." Jennifer paused. "And sorry for being, you know… difficult."

Link smiled. "Do not give it another thought," he said and closed the door.

Jennifer exhaled again, and then popped her lips. She looked out the window. Children were being called by their mothers. The chickens had finally been rounded up. The day was ending.

Jennifer sat heavily on the bed, thinking. She had convinced herself that if she just went to sleep, she would wake up tomorrow in her own bed, and everything would be better. This would all be just a strange, if very vivid, dream. Yes, that's all this was: a dream. Of that, Jennifer was certain.

She was very wrong.

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**Whoo! Now, that's over with. Long first chapter, at least for me. I doubt that all my chapters will be this long.**

**So, what do you guys think? PLEASE tell me what you think! This is my first fic, so I appreciate all types of encouragement and constructive criticism.**

**Thank you so much for checking this out.**

**Catch ya on the flipside.**

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	2. Of Cabbages and Queens

**Hola, mis amigos.**

**I'm updating really quickly before I go pick up the Granny. She's coming in today to visit us and go shopping... and more shopping. Gotta love the Granny.**

**I hope you enjoy this next chapter. I should have another one up soon. The writing muses have come to visit, so I have been typing away like a madwoman.**

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Chapter Two:

"Of Cabbages and Queens"

Jennifer awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She sat up and looked around quickly; she was still at the inn. She cursed silently and shuffled to the door. She opened it slightly and poked her head out. It was Link.

"Are you ready?"

She blinked sleepily at him. "No."

"We must be on our way—"

"I know, I know, give me a minute," she said grumpily, envious of his early morning alertness.

"I have these for you," he said, handing her a soft bundle. "Because your previous," He paused ever so slightly. "…attire was ruined."

Jennifer mumbled a thank you and closed the door. She felt terrible. Last night she felt restless and fretful, tossing and turning for what seemed like hours. Jennifer yawned. The day didn't look like it would be much better.

She stumbled into the clothes. It was a long skirt and bodice, again with the medieval theme. Jennifer grimaced. What was wrong with these people?

After arranging her hair as best she could, Jennifer walked downstairs to find Link waiting for her. He walked with her outside into the blinding sunlight. He helped her into his horse's saddle, and she arranged herself as comfortably as she could. He mounted in front of her, and Jennifer grabbed him immediately, reminded of what happened last time. He looked quickly back at her, eyes unreadable, before nudging his horse into a walk.

The village was packed with people. The din was enormous. Link led his horse expertly between the people, careful not to run anyone over. Jennifer thought of starting a conversation, but the noise was too loud and she was far too distracted. Instead, she simply took in her surroundings. Shopkeepers shouted over the crowd, advertising their wares. Children ran between the people, laughing and joking with friends. Customers bartered with vendors and color splashed almost every surface. Jennifer had never seen anything so beautifully simple. Even though everything was about hustle and bustle, it was a different kind of hustle and bustle than what she was used to. Jennifer smiled.

When they had reached the edge of town, Link let his horse gallop across Hyrule Field. Jennifer held fast to Link in front of her, looking around at the far away trees and mountains on all sides of them. Jennifer was not used to so much nature; she had been a city girl all her life. Her eyes watered and she ducked her head down behind Link's shoulders to block her face from the harsh wind. The hat Link wore to cover his blond hair whipped in her face. They charged across the Field at an alarming pace. Jennifer laid her head on the back of Link's neck, closing her eyes and hoping she didn't die.

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The ride seemed to take forever, but they ultimately slowed to a walk when they reached a huge drawbridge. Link led his horse across the moat expertly, and they began to make their way through the crowd in the city. Jennifer looked around and noticed that it was much the same here as it was in Kakariko, though this town seemed to be much larger than the village. Once again, Link had to maneuver his way through the crowd, though here it was more difficult. The townspeople did the best they could to move out of his way, looking up at Link and grinning. Some even waved. Link smiled back at them. Jennifer noted that it seemed as if Link was pretty well known in the town. Come to think of it, people acted much the same way in Kakariko, smiling at him and waving. Jennifer didn't quite know what to make of it all.

Abruptly, Link stopped and pointed out in the distance. Jennifer followed his finger towards a huge, gleaming white castle. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the castle getting bigger in her sight. Jennifer had never seen such a huge building.

"The king over-compensating for something?" she joked.

"We do not have a king," Link said simply.

"Oh. Right."

The guards seemed to already know Link, as they let him pass without hesitation. As he led his horse familiarly under the large gate, the two guards bowed their heads at him. The horse walked up a dirt path towards the castle and Link helped Jennifer dismount as a boy took his horse by the reins and led her away. Jennifer followed Link into the castle, taking in everything she could in the grand hallway. Large tapestries hung from the walls and beautiful stained glass windows cast colored lights on the marble floor. Link made eye contact with what Jennifer could only guess was a footman-type person.

"She is in the Temple, milord," he said, gesturing behind them.

Jennifer's eyebrows shot up. Temple? Milord? She gingerly followed Link as he turned around and walked back towards the town, turned left, and headed for a large temple. The area immediately surrounding the sanctuary was beautiful, obviously lovingly taken care of. Exotic flowers bloomed along the pathways they walked. When they reached the entrance, Link confidently strode forward, deeper into the temple. Jennifer was wide-eyed with wonder. The temple was vast; everything glittered white. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating everything. In the middle of the aisle, right in front of the altar, a lone woman stood. She turned to face them as Link bowed in front of her. She was beautiful, with golden hair and large blue eyes. As those eyes looked to Link and then locked onto Jennifer, she couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. Her eyes held a wisdom Jennifer couldn't imagine seeing in one so young. The queen—for she could only be the queen—couldn't be that much older than her, and yet she held herself with a bearing Jennifer could only hope to achieve some day in the distant future.

"Link, it is a pleasure to see you, as always," she said, sounding—if it was possible—more regal than she looked. But there was some other emotion there, Jennifer couldn't help but notice. She looked at Link, who that same undeterminable emotion in his eyes. But, in a moment, it was gone, as Link turned to Jennifer and began to introduce her.

"This is Jennifer. I—"

Suddenly, everything froze. A beautiful woman rose from what seemed like nowhere, floating serenely just above Jennifer's head. She was dressed in a flowing white dress and had a golden circlet on top of her flaming red hair. Her eyes were a pure gold, sparkling with knowledge. Jennifer took a step back, startled, and looked wildly around her. Everything was frozen in place, not a sound was heard, and Jennifer could feel time itself begin to warp and twist around her. It was the strangest experience she had had thus far—which said quite a lot—and Jennifer shrunk back from the woman, curious and more than a little frightened. The woman, for her part, took all of this in, and slowly smiled at Jennifer.

"_Jennifer Nicole Stark_," she began in a soft and melodic voice. Jennifer looked up at her, transfixed. "_You have many questions, I know, but all cannot be revealed to you. Even I do not know of the future, only what must pass for it to be. You are here for a purpose, Jennifer, one that is both great and terrible. You are here to fulfill your destiny_." She paused briefly, as if in hesitation.

Jennifer found her voice at last. "Destiny?"

"_That is who I am_."

"Oh. So… you're Destiny, giving me my, um, destiny?"

"_You must seek the shadows that threaten to envelope us all, a dangerous task, and one not bestowed lightly. Never fear, for you will have as much help as the Goddesses can give. With the assistance of the Protector, and the blessings of the Goddesses themselves, you will embark on your journey, one only you can complete_."

She touched a hand to Jennifer's chest, and removed it, leaving a glittering white print, that stretched from her collarbone to top of her breasts. The handprint flared, before finally melting into Jennifer's skin as though it was never there.

"The Protector?" she said. Destiny ignored her.

"_So that I may guide you_," the woman said gently. "_Good luck, dear child, may you fare well on your journey_."

And Destiny faded away, leaving Jennifer staring amazed at the wall. Everything had come back to life. Link had trailed off, and was now looking towards Jennifer expectantly. The queen caught Jennifer's eye. The queen's eye's sparkled knowingly, and she calmly walked down the steps towards Jennifer.

"You saw something, just now, did you not?"

Jennifer shook her head dizzily and licked her lips. She could still feel the woman's presence, the intoxicating warmth of it filling her body with its strange comfort. She felt as though she had awoken from a particularly sensual dream, all hot and bothered, and yet surprisingly calm and pleased with herself. Jennifer looked down at her chest, expecting to see the handprint, and disappointed that it had gone, leaving her doubtful that what she had seen was real. But the queen grasped her chin lightly in her fingers and pulled her face up to look at her. The queen's eyes bored into her, but not in a disturbing way. Instead, it was a look filled with curiosity and understanding. The queen dropped her hand.

"I knew Zelda would see something I could not." Link seemed pleased with himself, or at least as pleased as he could seem. "I knew when she appeared out of nothing that this was something for you, Zelda."

Zelda smiled at him like one would a child. "I saw nothing," she stated. "It was Jennifer who saw, not I."

She went to sit at a pew, Jennifer and Link sitting next to her.

The queen continued, "However, I did see Jennifer in a dream naught but two nights ago. She and her companion were touched by Destiny, and passing into the Sacred Realms."

"Touched by Destiny? Like, for example, a handprint on my chest?"

"Precisely," Zelda replied.

Jennifer was temporarily silenced by this revelation that the queen could see into the future, and, more specifically, her future.

"Who was her companion?" It was Link, breaking the silence.

"It was not you, Link. It was a young man I have never seen before. I am sure that his identity will be revealed to us shortly," Zelda said, before turning to Jennifer. "What did Destiny say to you?"

"That I was fated to complete a great and terrible journey. That I must destroy the shadows with the blessings of the Goddesses." The words were burned in Jennifer's memory. "But I don't understand. How am I supposed to defeat the shadows if I don't even know what they are? And who is this Protector of mine?"

"I am certain that all will be revealed to you in due time," Zelda said.

"That's exactly what the Destiny woman said." Jennifer was starting to get a little annoyed at Destiny. She had appeared out of nowhere, placed this burden of a journey on her shoulders, and left in the blink of an eye.

"That is the way of Destiny," Zelda said wisely. "One may not always understand, or appreciate, but there are always reasons."

Jennifer leaned on her hand thoughtfully. Then, she perked up. "You said that we were going into the Sacred Realms. Where are they?"

Both Zelda and Link glanced at each other, and Jennifer felt that it didn't bode well. Zelda sighed before replying cryptically, "They are the realms of the goddesses."

Jennifer gulped. "Like Heaven?"

"I do not know of this Heaven of which you speak."

"Where people go when they…" Jennifer almost couldn't finish. "When they… die?"

Even Zelda could not meet her eyes. Finally, she spoke.

"Yes."

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**Oh man, strange prophecies. The plot thickens.**

**Please review, guys! Even if it's just a simple "Good," I will die happy. Not before finishing the story, of course. REVIEW! You know you wanna...**

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	3. Pocket Protector

**I hope y'all like this next chapter. I'm updating really quickly before class. I anticipate busy-ness this next week, soI may not be updating. We'll see.**

**I got some interesting reviews. One from someone who thought this was "odd... but cool". Not sure what to make of that, but I roll with the punches. I'll take it. And I'm not dissing, in fact, I love that people find my work odd. I certainly don't find it odd, but then again, I am odd myself.**

**Then the reviewer went on to add my story to their favorites, so it must be a good kind of odd.Shout out toSageOfTheMinish, and Robinfan, too, who like my story so much it's going in their favorites! You two have impeccable taste!**

**Actually, the first thing that popped into my mind when I found out that Robinfan had put my story into her favorites was, "Why?"**

**Feel free to speculate. And enjoy this new chapter!**

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Chapter Three:

"Pocket Protector"

Jennifer awoke the next morning still feeling a little shaky. It seemed like ever since she got here she couldn't get a single restful night's sleep. Frankly, the whole business freaked her out. Destiny, prophesizing queens, and knowing that she was far, far away from home made Jennifer both terrified and frustrated at the same time.

Jennifer was never a big fan of fate and the fact that Destiny, or whoever, had yanked her from her life and set her in this world made her angry. Had she no choice? Whatever happened to choosing your _own_ destiny?

At the same time, she knew that everything that was happening here was bigger and greater than she was. The thought that she was merely a pawn made her want to run away and never look back. But the other part of her wanted to fight it, too.

She slammed her head back down on the pillow. How could she ever get anything done if she couldn't make up her mind? Not that it mattered, as she didn't even know what she was supposed to make up her mind about. Destiny didn't tell her anything, really, only that she was need to defeat the shadows, whatever they were.

Stupid Destiny.

Jennifer needed to get out. She hopped out of bed and fumbled into some clothes, not really caring what they were. After getting a footman to direct her out, Jennifer walked out into the blinding sunlight of the market. Everything was normal out here, with the usual vendors, performers, and townsfolk going about their day. Jennifer wandered around for a little while, checking out the shops and stalls and watching some of the street performances.

She found herself wandering out towards the drawbridge, looking up at the huge walls surrounding the castle and its town. Suddenly, she bumped into someone.

"Oof, sorry," she said, looking at the man she had bumped into, and immediately blanching. She had run into the same guy she had ran into after class just two—two!—days ago. He looked exactly the same as she had left him, except probably a little more confused. When he recognized her, the color drained from his face much like it had just done on Jennifer's.

They stood there a long time staring at each other, eyes wide with fear and bewilderment.

Finally, Jennifer said, "You!" Not the brightest of responses, but a response nonetheless.

That seemed to snap him out of it. "What's going on?" he asked, a little wildly.

"I might ask you the same thing!"

"Where, where am I? Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Jennifer put her hands on her hips.

"I asked you first."

"Well… I asked you second."

They both stared at each other for a long moment.

"I'm Eric," he said at last.

"Jennifer." They eyed each other suspiciously for a little longer before relaxing.

"Where are we?" he asked.

Jennifer saw that he looked just about the same as she did when she first arrived, and sighed, feeling pity for him. "We're not in Kansas, anymore, Toto."

"I figured that much," he mumbled.

"We're in a place called Hyrule—don't ask me, I've never heard of it either. But, apparently, they've never heard of San Diego here… or Earth for that matter." She paused. "How did you get here?"

Eric looked at her, face unreadable.

"Let me guess… you went to bed, fell asleep, and woke up standing here?"

"Yeah," he said, puzzled. "How did you know?"

"'Cause the same thing happened to me."

"It doesn't make sense."

"Tell me something I don't know," Jennifer said and sighed. She squinted up at the castle, thinking of Destiny, and then turned back towards Eric. "Strange things are afoot at the Circle K."

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Jennifer brought Eric into the castle.

"Where's the queen?" she asked one of the footmen.

"Most likely in her quarters, milady."

Jennifer frowned at him calling her milady and Eric raised his eyebrows. She gave the guard a terse smile before saying thanks. She knew vaguely where Zelda's room was, and started heading in that direction. She probably should have asked the guard, but was too disconcerted by his language to give it a thought.

As they walked the hallways, Eric swung his head from side to side in awe, taking in everything he could about the magnificent castle. Jennifer watched him with a sidelong glance. He was handsome, with curling dark hair and light blue eyes. Jennifer silently wished her hair would curl as perfectly as his, but all she seemed to get out of it was limp waves. His eyes were quite amazing, deep and inquisitive, or maybe that was just because he was looking at her inquisitively. Jennifer looked away quickly and blushed that he had caught her staring. She dared not look back to see him smirk, amused, and a little bit thrilled, because of her gaze.

Instead, Jennifer looked up and noticed that the hallway they were in was unfamiliar to her. She was lost.

"Oh, great," she said under her breath, feeling even more embarrassed than before.

By some miracle, Link chose that moment to show up and save the day. He walked up to them and looked quizzically at Eric before turning back to Jennifer.

"Are you looking for Zelda?" he said.

"Yes! I mean, yeah, do you know where I can find her?"

"Come with me, I was just on my way to see her."

Jennifer followed him hurriedly, sending silent 'thank you' thought waves to him as furiously as she could.

Link led them a set of double-doors and gave a knock.

"Come in!"

And come in they did. The three of them walked into the finest bedroom two of them had ever seen. It was huge, with a sitting area by the doors, a large, raised bed in the far corner, and a balcony overlooking the castle town. Sunlight poured in through the windows and the open balcony doors. Link went to sit near Zelda, who sat next to an imposing woman with silver hair and flaming red eyes.

"Impa, this is Jennifer, the one I told you of. And Jennifer, this is Impa, my former nursemaid and a dear friend of mine," Zelda said.

The woman, Impa, gave a grunt of what Jennifer could only assume was greeting, and Jennifer gave her a timid hello.

"Who is this?" Impa asked gruffly, nodding towards Eric.

"Oh, this is Eric. He, um… I, uh, found him outside in the town. He's, uh, where I'm from, and he got here exactly like I did." Jennifer looked at Zelda expectantly, with a funny feeling that Eric was the man the queen saw in her dream.

Zelda did not disappoint. "This is the young man from my dream," she said, smiling at Jennifer, reading her thoughts.

"What?" Eric asked, perplexed.

"It's a long story," Jennifer supplied.

"This is the Protector, then," Impa said.

"Of course."

"The what?" Eric sounded taken aback.

Jennifer put a hand on his shoulder. "Like I said… it's a long story."

* * *

**Bet you thought Jen's mystery man was Link, didn't you? Didn't you? I know, I'm good like that. This is quickly turning into an OC fic. Don't worry, I'll be throwing Zelda and Link in here, but I'm warning you, it's not all about them!**

**Fun Fact #36: This chapter was originally called "Familiar Faces," but I like "Pocket Protector" better, just 'cause it's so catchy.**

**coughREVIEWcough. Please, guys, I ain't too proud to beg!**

**Muchas gracias...**

**B-Storm**


	4. Destiny Strikes Again

**Yay! My homies have reviewed again! You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.**

**And yes, another man! Do you feel the love? Oh, yeah, I feel the love...**

**I'm pretty sure these next few chapters will clear things up a bit, as far as where the story is going and where everyone fits in. Trust me, I don't write the story, it writes itself, I'm just the messenger.**

**Actually, it's about 1:30 a.m., Thursday morning, and I have chosen now to update before tomorrow (today?), so that I can get this chapup now, because I know I won't have time tomorrow (today). I had a burst of creative energy this afternoon, and then I had to sit onit for a little while before I could go back and edit, yada yada yada, alright, I'll give you the chapter now.**

**Here we go again...**

* * *

Chapter Four:

"Destiny Strikes Again"

"I don't understand."

"I know, it's all so… big," Jennifer said.

"No, I mean, why me? Why us?" Eric asked, looking at her with eyes wide with some emotion Jennifer couldn't name.

She sighed. "You think I don't ask myself the same thing? I don't know."

They were walking towards the temple, following Zelda, Link, and Impa. The two were a few feet behind, having a hushed conversation. Zelda had insisted that they go back to the temple and see what happened.

"Maybe Destiny will visit us again," she said.

"Maybe this time I'll tell her where she can shove it," Jennifer mumbled under her breath.

They had reached the archway leading into the temple. Jennifer and Eric almost ran into the other three's backs.

"Why are we stopping?" Eric asked.

"This is your destiny, not ours," Zelda said. "Go. We will wait here."

Jennifer and Eric exchanged a look. Jennifer shrugged.

"Here goes nothing." And she strode into the temple, Eric following.

Eric stopped to look back and said, "What is the name of this place?"

"The Temple of Time."

"Oh." He turned back around, feeling a little strange at the mention of the name. It was a feeling he had gotten before, when teachers mentioned facts he knew were going to be on a test.

He caught up to Jennifer, who had a somewhat determined look on her face. Her mouth was set in a firm line, and she stopped in front of the altar. Eric stood next to her.

They stood for a moment, waiting for something to happen.

Jennifer's lips parted slightly, a little less determined and a little more nervous. Eric looked apprehensive, unsure of what exactly he was waiting for.

Once again, time froze and the lovely form of Destiny rose from the floor.

"'Bout time," Jennifer said. Eric was dumbfounded.

"_Welcome, Eric William Parsons. Your destiny awaits you. This is only the first step on a long and dangerous path. The shadows rise again, more powerful and terrible than before. The key to their defeat lies in the object under your protection_."

Destiny placed a hand on his chest, leaving a print identical to Jennifer's. Jennifer took the momentary silence as she completed this action as an opportunity to speak.

"What are the shadows? How can they be defeated?" she asked.

Destiny shook her head, her long red locks bouncing around her face.

"_I cannot reveal this to you_."

Jennifer groaned inwardly, frustration written all over her features. She began to open her mouth, but Destiny held up a pale hand.

"_One cannot know all, child. I am merely Destiny, and my purpose is only to set the wheels of fate in motion. I cannot change the direction, nor the bearing_," she said sadly. "_Fare thee well, the both of you. May you find your answers_."

She slowly disappeared as time began moving again. Jennifer knew she wasn't going to get anything else out of it. Eric looked much like Jennifer did when she first met Destiny. She grabbed him and pulled him, stumbling, back towards the entrance.

"Don't worry, Dopey, you'll get used to it," she murmured, and then spoke up so that Zelda, Link, and Impa could hear. "More cryptic messages, I'm afraid. Destiny's really starting to piss me off. Can she be any _more_ vague?"

Zelda shook her head, Link gave an amused half-smile, and Impa merely frowned at them.

"So, what now?"

----------

"So, I'm the Protector."

"And I need to seek the shadows."

Jennifer sighed. They were sitting on the balcony of one of the guest bedrooms, currently Eric's. She sighed again, and looked out towards the castle town. If this was a dream, she really needed to wake up soon; it was getting too weird and too real for her tastes.

"What the…?" Jennifer stared into the distance. Past the castle gates was a huge and horrible creature that stood tall and looming in front of the wall. It was terribly disfigured, as though some vicious little child had twisted it out of clay and hatred. Its limbs were as thick as tree trunks, its mouth set at a jagged line across the mound on top of its body. The eyes were the worst, slanted and narrow, and blood red. The monster reeked of despair. The guards on the wall hurriedly raised the drawbridge, and stood at the ready for an attack. But the creature didn't seem to be on the attack. Instead, it stood silently, waiting. Waiting for what, Jennifer couldn't tell, but the fact that it was just waiting made it all the more ominous.

Eric rose from his seat. "Holy…" It was all he could get out.

He looked down at Jennifer, who sat frozen in her chair. She suddenly looked up at him, and they reached an unspoken agreement. They both hurried out of the bedroom and down the hall. Thankfully, Eric had a better sense of direction than Jennifer, so he led the way to the Grand Hallway. Though he had only been in the castle a few hours, he knew—mostly—how to get from his room to the entranceway.

They rushed down the staircase, only to see a whirl of activity in the Grand Hallway. Everyone was busy, running to their positions, asking what was going on, and Zelda and Link stood in the middle of it all, hastily giving orders and shortened explanations.

Jennifer and Eric ran up to them.

"What is going on?" Jennifer asked breathlessly, just as Eric said, "What is that thing?"

Zelda and Link both looked at them.

"I need to—"

"Yes, Link, go," Zelda commanded, thought her eyes were soft as she watched him. Link ran off, and Jennifer saw for the first time since she had been in the castle that he was wearing his sword and shield.

"It is a Mordeth," Zelda said. "They are—"

Suddenly, the Mordeth roared, a terrible, chilling roar that made everyone's blood run cold. Jennifer felt the creature's roar long after it had ceased, deep in her bones, in her soul. She didn't think she could ever forget that roar. Eric fought the urge to grab Jennifer by the shoulders and pull her close; instead, he turned toward the creature's direction. Jennifer and Zelda did the same.

"They feed off death and pain," Zelda said, more calmly than was possible. "We all thought they were just legend—just a beast in a fairytale. Ostensibly, we were wrong."

She began to walk stubbornly towards the Mordeth, and a handful of guards surrounded her instantly. Jennifer and Eric followed at a distance.

As she strode through the town, all of the people watched her pass. The townspeople hurriedly made their way to their homes, pulling children inside. They shut all of the doors and windows. The market became a ghost town.

Zelda had reached the wall, and was climbing up the stairs to stand over the gate. Jennifer and Eric went up after her, in awe of her courage as she faced the monster determinedly.

The Mordeth, upon seeing her, began to laugh. The laugh was even more blood-curdling than the roar. It ripped into Jennifer's flesh, and she closed her eyes against its terror in vain. She felt Eric move his body closer behind her, and was glad to feel his heat at her back. When the beast stopped, Jennifer opened her eyes to see Zelda doing the same. The queen took a deep breath to gather her courage, before setting her mouth in a firm line, jaw clenched.

Dreadfully, the Mordeth began to speak, its jaws gnashing in a horrifying rhythm.

"Where is the Key?" it asked.

"Why must you know?" Zelda called. Everyone, everything was silent, waiting for its reply.

It only began to laugh again. "We will find the Key, and all my brothers and sisters shall be free of their bonds." It paused, twisting its face into what only could be a maniacal smile. "You cannot hope to stop the Shadows, Zelda of Hyrule, not even with the Hero of Time. Soon, my masters will regain their full strength, and you and your precious Hero shall beg for their mercy." It laughed again.

"You shall receive none."

Everyone waited with bated breath, but the Mordeth simply eyed all of them, and seemed to reach a decision.

It turned and began to walk back towards whatever hell-hole it had come from. Everyone watched it go with sinking feelings in their hearts. If what the Mordeth had said was true, they were on the brink of a war against an enemy more powerful than one they had ever faced before.

* * *

**Destiny, again? When will that old hag leave poor Jen and Eric alone?**

**So, what do you guys think of Eric? Is he cute or what? I don't know, I like him. But I guess that's cause he's mine!**

**I should have another chapter up pretty soon, with the weekend coming up and such. I'll have some time on my hands. I hope.**

**Please, _please_, review! And, as always, thanks for reading!**

**BB**


	5. One and One and One is Three

**Okay, I rode home for two hours on the train today and let me tell you, the train is the absolute best place to go if you want to type a chapter or two. I edited this chapter and wrote the next one and half of the one after that on the freakin' train. That, for me, is incredible… I don't have the attention span to type that much in one sitting.**

**Oh, and snaps to anyone who can guess which Beatles song the chapter title is taken from. Seriously, I would be amazed.**

**I'm warning you now, I don't do poetry, or riddles, so… don't be too hard on me.**

**Alright, let's get the ball rolling…**

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Chapter Five:

"One and One and One is Three"

The citizens of Hyrule were alarmed. More than alarmed. Scared out of their wits was more like it. Less than three days after the appearance of the Mordeth outside of the castle, reports came in from across the kingdom and they all said the same thing: monsters. Lots of them. Monsters that came from the deepest, darkest corners of the Sacred Realms. Monsters that should have stayed dead. They were called the Hands of the Shadows.

They attacked everything they could. What they may have lacked in organization, they made up for in numbers. Hundreds of them roamed Hyrule, killing everyone they came across. Hyrule Field became their home, and no one dared venture out to the Field. Instead, whole villages barricaded themselves in and thousands poured into the Hyrule Castle Town, seeking refuge. All of the citizens of Hyrule turned to their queen, Zelda, and to Link, the Hero of Time, to deliver them from the Hands of the Shadows.

The queen herself stood on the balcony and sighed. Jennifer looked at her shoes and Eric looked at anything but the queen. Zelda turned around to face them, the sun shining behind her, creating a halo around her head. She sighed again.

"Link and the Knights are sweeping the Field, but when one Hand is struck down, three more take its place." It was Impa, gazing at the queen with pity. Pity for what the young queen had to face, and pity that she had to do it alone.

"We are losing some of our best soldiers out there, your majesty. We cannot fight the Hands forever," said one of her advisors.

"What must I do?" Zelda said quietly.

"I suggest we withdraw, your majesty," said another.

"And leave the people outside these walls at the mercy of the Hands?" she said.

Impa put a hand on her queen's, her friend's, shoulder. "There are too many, Zelda. If we do not bring the soldiers back here soon, there may not be anything for them to come back to. The others must survive with the defenses they have."

Zelda nodded silently.

Jennifer rose and left the room. It was dusk, and she watched what was left of the sun disappear beyond the horizon. Eric emerged behind her and they stood together in silence. Despite all of Jennifer's efforts, she still found herself attached to these people, the Hylians. She _wanted_ to help them, and for the first time in her life she felt she truly had a purpose. The problem was, she didn't know how to realize her purpose. She began to wonder when she was getting these so-called blessings from the Goddesses.

Eric kept looking over at Jennifer, lost in her own thoughts. What was she thinking? Her hazel eyes gave nothing away. The last of the sun's rays lit up her face. She may not ordinarily have been the most beautiful woman in the world, but at the moment, she could have been. Too bad for the frown on her face, he thought, how I wish…. She suddenly turned towards him and murmured something about sleep. Before he knew it, she swept away from him and down the hall to her quarters. Eric frowned. He needed something to do to keep his mind occupied.

----------

Both Jennifer and Eric got their wishes.

That night, after much tossing and turning, the two wandered off into sleep. Somewhere in the process, they also happened to wander into the Sacred Realms.

Jennifer's eyes fluttered open. She felt the familiar sensation of floating on a cloud. Next to her, Eric was just sitting up, shaking his head. Jennifer sat up as well, only to see the three beautiful women from her last trip to the Sacred Realms. She realized now that that was the only place this could be.

"The Goddesses," she whispered.

"_Indeed, Jennifer_."

The three Goddesses floated imperially around Jennifer and Eric.

"_We were the ones to create the land of Hyrule, and we are the ones to protect it_."

"Not doing a very good job, are we?" Jennifer quipped.

"_Do not slight the Goddesses_!" One of them cried, raising her voice so that it penetrated their skulls and made Jennifer and Eric cover their ears in an attempt to block it out.

"You had to insult a Goddess, hm?" Eric whispered furiously.

Jennifer simply shrugged.

"_We understand your distress_," said another Goddess, this one gentler. "_But we have our own battle to fight_."

The final one spoke up. "_We do not have much time, sisters_."

"_Very well_."

One of the Goddesses touched a hand to Jennifer's forehead. She felt power surge through her, and the print on her chest flared, before returning to normal.

"_The best I can give_," she said.

Another Goddess turned to Eric, and did the same. The handprint on his chest blazed as he was temporarily engulfed in light.

"What are these gifts?" Jennifer asked, but the Goddesses ignored her.

Soon, the light surrounding Eric faded and he relaxed.

"_Use it well, my child_."

"Will they help us fight the Shadows?" Jennifer tried once more, but again the Goddesses did not answer.

The final Goddess took her turn. Her hands flamed with power and she cast them out towards Jennifer and Eric. The light swallowed them.

"_You must seek the Five Powers to awaken the Key and fight the Shadows_…."

As the light faded, so did their consciousnesses.

----------

Jennifer woke groggily in the morning, like she had jet-lag. Understandable, as she apparently had traveled to another realm; or maybe the Goddesses came to them, and she felt tired from the fretful night's sleep. She couldn't decide. The ways of this world didn't seem to make much sense to her, but by now she figured that the only way to keep her sanity was to just accept that it didn't make sense and leave it at that.

Eric threw the covers off and headed for the mirror, trying to see if anything in his appearance had changed. Nope, he looked like the same old Eric. Even Destiny's handprint wasn't visible. It was funny, he didn't even _feel_ any different either. He knew that something about him was different—or at least should be—but he couldn't pinpoint it.

Zelda had barely slept at all during the night. So wrought was she with worry over Link, the Key, and her kingdom, she could barely function as she used to. This was normal for her, however; in times of great peril she always seemed to put herself last, as so she should. She was, after all, a queen, the servant of the people and the land.

A knock at her door startled Zelda out of her reverie.

It was Jennifer and Eric. "What are the Five Powers?" Jennifer asked, in her blunt manner. At least to Zelda it was blunt.

Zelda hid her astonishment very well. She was trained for it after all.

"I have never heard of the Five Powers," she said.

Eric must have noticed something. "Sorry to barge in on you like this, your majesty…."

"Oh, please, I thought by now you would have called me Zelda."

They all smiled. "Sorry," Eric continued.

"Yeah, good morning… Zelda," Jennifer said.

"I trust that this new-found curiosity in the Five Powers denotes a visit from the Goddesses?"

She really was almost psychic. "Yeah," Jennifer replied.

"Perhaps I can help you."

----------

"_One for those of the warrior ways_;

"_Two for those young of heart_;

"_Three for those of the fount of tears_;

"_Four for those scuffing the sky_;

"_And Five for those that connect them all_."

Rauru recited from the deepest corners of his mind. It was a strange request Zelda had put forth to him. As the oldest of all the Sages, he knew most things the others did not. He was also wise enough to know that Zelda wasn't merely curious—she was anxious.

"And what happens when the Five Powers are collected?" Her wide eyes held hope.

"They are first collected and then they are… activated."

"Why?" This was Jennifer, one of the two Zelda had brought with her to meet Rauru. As far as heroes went, she wasn't much, but Rauru knew that looks were deceiving. She was Goddess and Destiny touched, and that spoke for something.

"That question I cannot answer."

The three sighed at the old man.

"What? At least we know where they are!" he said.

"You know where they are?" Eric said.

"Of course. That should be obvious enough!"

Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"Spit it out, geezer," she said.

"One is for every race: Gerudo, Kokiri, Zora, Goron, and Hylian. I could only imagine they would be at the places they call home."

"Of course! Rauru, you old dog!" Zelda gave him a hug.

"Hey! I'm not old!" he said, but looked pleased nonetheless.

"So we just have to collect and activate the Five Powers at each of the places?" There was Eric again, stating the obvious.

"Yes." Jennifer smiled. "But how do we"—she added air quotes—"'activate' them?"

"That I do not know," Rauru said. Jennifer certainly was a strange one, he thought.

"I am sure the Goddesses will guide you," Zelda said.

Jennifer wasn't so sure about that. She and Eric had told Zelda what had happened in the Sacred Realms. Zelda was both delighted and put off. The Goddesses were giving them help, but they had also mentioned that they were fighting a battle in the Sacred Realms. Fights between the powers of the Sacred Realms were rare, and dangerous.

Jennifer, on the other hand, was more put off than anything. These were _Goddesses_; surely they could give the mere mortals more help. Jennifer wanted a little Deus Ex Machina. But since it didn't appear she would be getting that, she was going to have to do it herself.

----------

**The Five Powers? Hmmm, I smell a quest!**

**So, anyway, this chapter and the next one should clear up a lot about Jen and Eric's story. Based on what I have so far, they should be off on their quest ASAP. Oh, and don't worry, Jen and Eric are going to have their hands full with this journey, they will hardly have time for any romantic actions. At the moment, that is. As for Zellie and Link… we'll see. Honestly, I'm a Zelinker, please don't shoot me, and I think they're meant for each other. But… I'm still not sure how it's going to work out in this story. Maybe something, or maybe nothing, I don't know.**

**As always, thanks for reading, my dears! Please review! Please!**

**B2**


	6. Keep Off the Grass

**Let's get one thing straight: reviews are never annoying! They never bother me, 'cause you guys have actually taken the time to give me feedback, and that is always greatly appreciated! I think my reviewers are awesome! So go ahead and ask questions, or even just write "This is awesome!" because I love every review I get. So, my reviewers remember: I love you all! And thanks**

**X A MILLION BAJILLION KAJILLION.**

**Okay, just had to make that clear.**

* * *

Chapter Six:

"Keep Off the Grass"

Training began soon after.

"Faster!" Impa bellowed. As it turned out, she was a very strict instructor. Surprise, surprise.

Eric was dripping with sweat as compared to Impa. She had just given Eric a smack on the behind with her sword. He staggered out of her reach, grasping his sword more tightly in his hand. They were out on the training grounds, where Impa was giving Jennifer and Eric crash courses on fighting, horseback riding, and any other skill they might need for their journey.

Eric breathed deeply to gather his strength before going into a guard position. He and Impa were having a bout of sword fighting to gauge Eric's ability. Since Jennifer didn't know the first thing about sword fighting, she had no idea what was going on, but everyone else present was impressed with Eric's natural skill with the blade. In fact, it was almost unnaturally natural.

Still, it was not enough to beat Impa. When Jennifer asked Zelda why they were receiving training in the fighting arts from her former nursemaid, the queen simply laughed. Her nursemaid happened to be the last of the Sheikah, a clan devoted to the protection of the royal family. The clan was comprised of the greatest warriors Hyrule had ever seen.

After Eric and Impa had gone enough rounds to satisfy the Sheikah nursemaid, Impa turned to Jennifer.

Jennifer gulped and took a proffered practice sword. She stepped opposite Impa and realized, not for the first time, that she was a truly intimidating woman. After many hits sure to become bruises, Jennifer hobbled off the practice field, cursing long and elegantly. Eric smiled at her as he handed her a cup of water. She gulped it greedily.

"Don't look at me like that," she said.

"What? I wasn't looking at you," Eric replied.

"Yes, you were. It's not funny."

Eric gave her a long look.

"Not _that_ funny," she grumbled, walking off. "It's not my fault the Goddesses didn't bless me with mad sword skills."

Eric grinned and shook his head before heading back to the practice fields. Impa drilled him for the rest of the day as Jennifer was taught the basics of close combat, hand-to-hand and even with daggers. At first, she was instructed on the use of a sword, and Jennifer never realized swords were so heavy. Eventually, Link gave up trying to teach her any advanced moves, after even Link had to admit her skills were mediocre. Instead, they moved on to some simple moves she could use against opponents twice her size. Jennifer even managed to throw Link a few times, but she suspected that he had gone easy on her. _Really _easy. Link also taught her how to use a bow and arrows, and Jennifer proved she wasn't too bad, at least better than she was with a sword. Eric, however, outclassed her significantly at everything, much to Jennifer's chagrin. She knew it had to be the work of the Goddesses; how else could he be so freakishly adept with weapons he had never held in his life until now?

Finally, the two were acquainted with their new mounts.

"This," Impa said, "is Chezantin." She indicated a brown gelding she held by the reins in her left hand. "And this is Faedra." She pulled a little on the reins of a bay mare to her right.

Chezantin immediately stuck his muzzle in Jennifer's face, sniffing her. She pulled back and put her hand up to stroke him.

Impa's eyes crinkled with mirth.

"He already likes you," she said. "He's yours, then. Eric, you take Fae." She handed each of them the reins and continued, "These are two of the finest horses Hyrule has to offer."

The two of them were taught the proper way to mount and sit in the saddle. They learned how to direct a horse when both hands carried weapons, how to saddle and unsaddle their mounts, and how to rub down and take care of a horse properly.

By the end of it, Jennifer and Chez had bonded spectacularly. So attached was Chez to his new mistress that when Eric dismounted and walked over to talk to Jennifer, Chez defended her from his advances by giving Eric a little bite on the arm.

"Ow!" Eric said, clutching his arm. Faedra gave a whinny of protest to Chez's treatment of her new master. "Your horse bit me!"

Jennifer stifled a laugh.

"Good boy," she said, grinning widely.

Everyone else sputtered a laugh.

"Not _that_ funny," he grumbled.

They spent all day learning the things it took a normal warrior a lifetime. It was difficult to remember, but between the two of them they managed fairly well. Jennifer and Eric left the training grounds that evening sore and utterly sick of medieval weapons.

----------

"Wow," Jennifer said.

"What?"

"It feels like we've been here forever, but it's only been less than a week. Everything's moving so fast."

Eric's brows furrowed. "Do you think that, you know, the days have gone by in—in our… world?"

"I hope not." Jennifer leaned on her elbows and said, "It would be a bitch explaining to everyone where we've been all this time."

Eric gave her a crooked smile. "Yeah."

The two of them were sitting on Eric's balcony again. They were to depart the next morning; servants were expertly packing supplies for them in the background. Jennifer would have happily packed her own things, but Zelda had insisted that the servants do it. Her reasoning was that they knew what they were doing and Jennifer and Eric, well, didn't.

"As if it's that hard to pack crap," Jennifer had said, but now she was seeing what Zelda had meant. The servants managed to stuff the tons of things they could possibly need into saddlebags the horses could actually carry.

The servants also laid out Jennifer's and Eric's new threads. Rather than the skirt and bodice number Jennifer had been wearing, she was now the proud owner of an ensemble to put Aragorn to shame. She had a button-up shirt, deerskin jerkin, and dark green, knee-high breeches that she tucked into brown leather boots. When Jennifer tried on the outfit in front of the mirror, she couldn't help but feel like an extra from The Princess Bride. But it was comfortable and supposedly functional, so she went with it. She saw Eric's outfit lying on the bed, and noticed that his wasn't much different.

The sun hung low in the sky as Jennifer and Eric watched wistfully, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly, the sound of alarm in the village reached their ears. Jennifer pulled her head up. Out on the horizon was another Mordeth. Plus a couple hundred of his friends.

Jennifer's jaw dropped, and she could feel Eric's gasp of incredulity next to her. The line of Hands of the Shadows was slowly approaching the gate as the soldiers in the village prepared for battle. The townspeople rushed inside their houses, barricading themselves indoors.

The terrible army marched slowly, too slowly, towards the wall of the village. The mass of Hands consisted of all the horrible types of dead. Some were short and squat, others were tall and lanky. Some were just bones and others dripped some ooze Jennifer didn't want to name. The one thing they all had in common was the despair they brought with them. Every single creature should have been dead, long dead. They should have been confined to the Sacred Realms, doing whatever it is the dead do. Instead, Jennifer thought with a grimace, something more horrible than even the dead had loosed them in Hyrule. Nature screamed against their presence. They had no right to be in the Mortal Realms.

Yet, they were here and the soldiers scrambled to their positions to defend the castle against a siege. Both Jennifer and Eric ran down to the Grand Hallway, where Zelda was once again in the middle of it all. Her band of guards encircled her as others ran around, carrying out her orders. Zelda met the eyes of Jennifer and Eric and pursed her lips.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Eric asked.

"I am afraid not," she said sadly.

"We can fight!" Jennifer exclaimed.

Zelda shook her head.

"It is up to the soldiers of Hyrule now," she said. "It is unnatural. That the people of Hyrule must defend themselves from creatures not meant to be in our world." She gathered herself and spoke in a voice Jennifer had never heard her use before. "And they organize as well! What blasphemy pulls their strings!"

"They don't normally organize?" Jennifer said.

"They are not smart enough. If they gather in such a fashion," she gestured out to the Hands, "then it is the work of something very powerful."

Jennifer and Eric silently bowed their heads.

"Never despair," Zelda said, partly to them, and partly to herself. "There is always hope." She looked significantly at the two of them. "We will survive the night, and we will see you off in the morning."

With that, the sun dropped beneath the horizon and the creatures of the dead charged the castle.

----------

Jennifer, Eric, and Zelda watched the battle from the balcony of the War Room. It was perfectly situated near the top of the castle so that the monarch could view the battle below and give orders at the same time. Messengers and soldiers scrambled around in the back, occasionally asking Zelda for her orders. Zelda usually left the generals to direct their fighters, but the truly important decisions were left to the queen.

Jennifer and Eric shut out the din of the War Room and watched with horror and strange fascination the battle at the walls. The archers managed to shoot a great many of the Hands, but most of the rest were left to the swordsmen and cavalry. But it was not enough. Too many of the Hylian soldiers were gone, out fighting the monsters on the Fields and in the outlying villages. The queen's army was stretched too thin, and everyone knew it. And, so it seemed, did the Hands, or whoever was controlling them. Jennifer thought grimly of their impeccable timing, striking the castle just after the queen dispersed her soldiers, and just before most were set to return.

The worst part of it all to Jennifer and Eric was that they could not do anything. Jennifer and Eric both insisted to anyone who would listen that they could fight, but they were ignored. The two of them were too important to risk their deaths. They had unexpectedly found themselves to be the last hope of the Hylians. Though no one ever directly told them this, everyone followed them with their eyes and whispered when they passed. They were the Goddess and Destiny touched. They alone could find the Key and stop the evil flooding the kingdom.

The Hylian soldiers fought doggedly, but the tides continued to turn for the creatures of the dead. Jennifer and Eric watched with sinking feelings in their hearts, but Zelda appeared to have no emotion, her face wiped clean. The queen simply watched.

The total dark of night had finally fallen, and the soldiers and the Hands became indistinguishable in the view of the War Room. Fires lit up and danced back in forth in the distance. The sounds of the dead and dying filled the air, suffocating those watching the fight.

Suddenly, miraculously, a horn cut through the air, the pure, sweet sound of hope. Everyone in the War Room and the town turned their heads at the note. The Hylian soldiers had returned, Link at the head.

Everyone's lips parted, too filled with hope to speak. Link and the fighters charged toward the line of Hands, viciously cutting away at them with all the strength only hope and courage could bring.

The Hands were confused at being attacked on both sides and the Hylians used their momentary uncertainty to their advantage, taking down as many of the dead as possible. More Hylians fell, but even more creatures of the dead fell as the balance of the battle shifted.

Zelda clasped her hands under her chin as everyone else waited with bated breath. The battle was finally turning in their favor. Jennifer worried her lip and Eric kept his eyes on the fight. No one moved in the War Room; no one dared look away.

One by one the Hands fell. It seemed to take an eternity, but the creatures were slain, turning to dust at the swipe of a sword. The Hylian soldiers closed in on them, and all the Hands were killed, sent back to death where they belonged.

Only at the death of the last creature did the people exhale. Link, sweat-soaked and covered in blood, looked up to the War Room. His bright eyes shined when they met Zelda's and the queen smiled shakily down at him.

The aftermath of the battle was evident on the plains in front of the castle walls. Though the dead had turned to ash as they were sent back to the Sacred Realms, they left behind the bodies of too many Hylian soldiers. The wounded were taken to healers and the dead were placed in graves dug by the townspeople. It was a long night, but many were glad that they had at least lived to see it.

As the last of the soldiers was buried, the entire town stood by to watch and to mourn. Jennifer and Eric both noticed that many of the Hylians had looked to them during the burials, glimmers of hope on their faces. Jennifer met Eric's eyes; if they ever doubted before, they were certain now that they were ready for this quest.

----------

"Fare thee well, Jennifer and Eric," Zelda said.

The entire town had appeared to see them off. Jennifer and Eric stood in front of them, decked out in Hylian gear. Eric had a long sword buckled at his waist. Jennifer didn't really trust herself with a sword, and so had a bow and arrows on her back. What wasn't on their person was on their mounts. Chez's and Faedra's saddlebags were full of extra food, clothes, and weapons. All this was at the cost of the queen, who was determined to let Destiny take her course.

"You, too," Jennifer said, giving Zelda a hug. The queen seemed a little taken aback, but was pleased nevertheless. "Good luck," she whispered.

Jennifer turned to Link and hugged him as well. "Thanks for running into me," she said.

"I am sure I will again," he said, smiling. Link really was so very pretty.

Eric said his goodbyes and the two of them mounted up; both were much more confident on top of a horse after their lessons. They waved back at the crowd, Link, and Zelda and made their way across the drawbridge. They had talked about their route that morning. They were to go in order to the Powers, starting with the First. Since the First was given to those with warrior ways, they turned right to the Gerudo's Fortress, skirting Hyrule Field. They had been warned not to go out into the Field; they were choked with the creatures of the dead, too dangerous to cross. Instead, they had to go around and through the forests.

"Stay away from the Field," Link had said. His warning still echoed in their minds as they led Chez and Fae farther and farther away from the castle. Zelda and Link now stood on the top of the gate, watching their retreating backs. Even as the rest of the townspeople dispersed, Zelda and Link stayed up there to watch, squinting in the early morning sunlight. They stood up there for a long time, even after their last hope for Hyrule had vanished into the forest.

* * *

**So, the adventure begins! And hopefully now you get a little better idea of the whole situation, the Hylians, the Hands, and why Jen and Eric are so needed.**

**Oh, and I couldn't help myself saying Link was so pretty. He really is. I know Jen and Eric are uña y carne, but** **still, sometimes Jen just needs to stop and admire the scenery.**

**Begin rant. Grr, this site is pissing me off. Everytime I edit a document (i.e. A/N's and everything) on this site, some of the words stick together likethis. It is really annoying 'cause I'm not doing it on purpose! I'm a stickler for spelling and grammar mistakes and it really bothers me when thishappens, 'cause I take the time to make sure I don't have any mistakes, and then this stupid site goes ahead and adds them without my knowledge or permission. Okay, sorry about that. End rant.**

**I may not be updating for a little while, as finals are coming up next week. Mierda. I'm swamped already. I will try as hard as I can to get something up soon, but I'm not making any promises.**

**Toodle-oo, my dear readers, and don't forget to review!**

**BB**


	7. The Y Factor

**Yay! I love the reviews! And I totally want to thank EmeraldDestiny and Liquid Earth for adding my little story to their favorites. I don't think I thanked EmeraldDestiny before. Sorry. My bad.**

**Isn't it amazing how the threat of studying really inspires one to write? Just an observation.**

**Alright, it's going to be a little more fun this chapter. For some reason, this came out lighter than the last. Sometimes I feel like I'm yanking you guys around with all the change in moodiness. What can I say, I have serious mood swings. So, hopefully, you all will like the fun-ness of this chapter.**

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Chapter Seven:

"The Y Factor"

The paths through the forests took longer than going across Hyrule Field, but Jennifer and Eric weren't complaining. Link's warning and the novelty of horseback riding still held sway; nevertheless, they managed to make it to Gerudo's Fortress in good time.

When Jennifer and Eric had reached Gerudo's Valley, they were immediately shot at. The arrows had missed on purpose. Someone called out to them.

"Who goes there?"

"I'm Jennifer, this is Eric. We were sent by Zelda, the queen."

"Liars!" cried another voice. Jennifer and Eric weren't expecting this.

"I have never seen these two before," the voice continued.

"Do you have proof of your claims?" A woman dropped down from the sky and asked them. She was tall and lean, wearing very loose pants gathered at the waist and ankles. A bandeaux top stretched across her chest, her eyes were gold and her hair blazed red with skepticism.

"Nope, sorry, we must have forgot our club cards," Jennifer said sarcastically.

Eric looked disapprovingly at her. Jennifer rolled her eyes before he responded, "Our errand is a crucial one. We have been touched by the hand of Destiny to complete this task." Not bad, Jennifer thought, very elegant sounding.

The woman in front of them narrowed her eyes.

"We are—" Eric began again, but was cut off by the handprints on each of their chests flaring up. The light shining from them made the woman in front of them bring her arm to her face to shield her eyes. The light faded and Jennifer could have sworn she heard a familiar laugh in the air. The woman lowered her arm, mouth slightly agape.

"Very well," she said. Oh, Destiny, you sly little….

The woman turned on her heel and led Jennifer and Eric through the long, winding Gerudo's Valley before emerging onto a desert plain. The Fortress loomed in the distance.

"I am Darafu," the woman said stiffly. "I apologize if we seem inhospitable. We must be careful—"

"—in these dangerous times, yeah, I get it," Jennifer said, distracted by the huge fortress.

"We understand," Eric said smoothly. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Darafu."

When they reached the fortress, Darafu took Chez and Faedra and motioned for Jennifer and Eric to go inside. They stepped inside to see more Gerudo women, all with gold eyes and red hair. They walked deeper into the fortress before reaching a tall woman, obviously the Gerudo leader. She was beautiful in an exotic way, sharing the physical features of the rest of her people. Other women milled around her. They stopped talking as Jennifer and Eric approached.

"Welcome, Destiny touched," she said, her voice low and smoldering.

"Is that all we're good for?" Jennifer said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Eric clarified.

The Gerudo leader smiled gratefully at Eric.

"I am Nabooru, leader of the Gerudo and Sage of Spirit."

"The Sage of Spirit?" Jennifer asked, eyes widening.

"Indeed."

"Cool," she said. Eric rolled his eyes inwardly.

"I'm Eric, and this is Jennifer. We are looking for the Five Powers."

"I see." Nabooru frowned thoughtfully. "I have not heard of these Five Powers."

One of the women turned to Nabooru.

"I have seen writings that mention the Five Powers," the woman said.

"Where?" Jennifer asked eagerly. Everyone looked at her.

"What did the writings say, Dula?" Nabooru said.

"I will show them to you."

----------

"So, you guys—I mean, girls—don't have any men around?" Jennifer asked, fascinated. "Shut up."

"I did not say anything," Nabooru replied, puzzled. She shook her head and said, "The Gerudo's are a race of women warriors."

"That's so awesome. But, how do you, you know, um—"

"Here, Nabooru." Dula pointed to writing carved into a wall. "I only noticed them a little while ago."

They were all in a long, low room underneath the Fortress. A large stone chair stood at the end of the aisle. The walls were intricately carved with pictures and symbols Jennifer couldn't even begin to decipher. Everything looked a little neglected. Dust lined the crevices of the carvings and cobwebs were strung across the corners. Nabooru called it the Old Throne Room.

Eric gave the dusty writings a blow and rubbed them. Dust scattered as Nabooru leaned forward.

"_The First of the Five lies in the depths_..." she began. She squinted and dusted off some of the carvings.

"…_in the heart of a woman_."

"The heart of a woman?" Eric whispered.

"Does it say anything else?" Jennifer asked.

"No."

"Nothing?"

"I am afraid so," Nabooru said.

"I don't get it," Jennifer said. "Where is the heart of a woman? Gah, I hate riddles."

"Well, what is in the heart of a woman?" Eric asked, half to himself.

"Love? Hate? Fear? Strength? The possibilities are endless," Jennifer said, frustrated. "I hate riddles."

"Maybe it's not an emotion," Eric pointed out.

"What else could it be?" Jennifer asked. "Have I told you how much I hate riddles? Crossword puzzles are my sworn enemy."

Eric smiled and said, "Maybe it's a place." He turned to Nabooru.

"Where is the heart of your territory?"

"Here."

"Here?" Jennifer asked skeptically.

"The Fortress was built around and above the Old Throne Room," Nabooru said.

"Okay, then it must be here," Eric said, looking around.

"But where? We can't just dig up the Throne Room," Jennifer said. Suddenly confused, she turned to Nabooru and asked, "How come you guys—girls—don't use the Throne Room?"

"Only our King uses the Old Throne Room. One male is born every century, and he becomes our leader," Nabooru replied.

"He does? That sucks."

Eric had started walking around the Throne Room, inspecting everything and anything that could be a hint to the location of the First Power. Jennifer walked pensively over to the throne.

"Well, I'm an American," she said pointedly. "And we don't believe in Kings. We believe that our leaders answer to the people." She paused before adding, almost as an afterthought, "However that works." She had reached the throne and looked up.

"And as a woman," she continued, smiling pleasantly, "I believe that the heart of a woman is way, way above the brain of a man."

Jennifer grinned and climbed up onto the throne. Carved into the ceiling above the throne was a symbol she had seen many times in Hyrule—a triangle with four other smaller triangles inside. Jennifer reached up and touched the middle, upside down triangle.

Suddenly, the slab of stone that served as the seat of the throne slid out from under her. Jennifer slid down a long hole and landed heavily at the bottom.

"Oof!" She started coughing and waving her hand if front of her face. Her graceful landing had caused ages-old dust to sprinkle the air.

"Jen! Are you okay?" Eric called down the hole. Jennifer looked up at him, eyes blinking furiously.

"Yeah, fine," she replied. "Just peachy."

"Do you need me to come down?" He sounded worried.

"No, that's alright. I need you to help me get back up again, anyway," she called up the hole. She noticed that his brows were furrowed in concern.

"I'm fine, Eric, really. Stop being a worry-wart," she said, exasperated. He still didn't look too convinced, but Jennifer just rolled her eyes and looked forward.

Once again, the walls were covered in strange carvings, but this time, they seemed to be leading down the corridor Jennifer had landed in.

"Actually, I could use a light. You didn't happen to bring your handy dandy flashlight, huh?"

Eric shook his head. Jennifer gingerly took a step forward and torches along the walls immediately lit up.

"Whoa," she said.

"What? What is it?" Eric yelled.

"Nothing, God," she said exasperatedly. "I think I just solved our lighting problem, though."

The torches had revealed a corridor of earthen walls and a cut out in the wall at the end of the corridor. A stone lay in the cut out. Jennifer walked towards it.

"Jen. Jen! Where are you going?" Eric asked.

"I got it under control," she said absently, most of her concentration on the stone at the end of the corridor.

Light flickered on the walls from the fiery torches. Jennifer's nose wrinkled at the dust and dank smell of the area. When she reached the cut out, she cautiously reached out and grabbed the stone. When nothing happened, Jennifer smirked, pleased with herself.

She examined the stone, but everything about it seemed to be ordinary. It wasn't even a pretty stone; it was gray and plain. Jennifer held it up and noticed that the egg-shaped stone was little bigger than her fist. The only thing that gave it away as being a Power was the small "1" etched on it. Jennifer walked back towards the hole and looked up at Eric.

"Now you're gonna have to figure out how to get me outta here," she said.

----------

The Gerudo's fetched a rope and pulled her back up the hole. As soon as Jennifer's foot left the ground of the corridor, the torches went out. When her feet reached the ground of the Throne Room, the slab of stone slid back into place as though it had never moved.

Jennifer handed the stone to Eric, who dropped it like a hot potato, crying out.

"What the…? Ow, why is it so hot?" he said, nursing a finger.

"It doesn't feel hot to me," Jennifer said, picking up the stone.

"Only you may touch the Powers," Dula said suddenly. Jennifer and Eric had almost forgotten she was there. "You are the Key."

"Huh?"

"Of course," Eric said. "Why else would you be here?"

"Hey," Jennifer said. "That cuts me deep, you know, real deep."

Eric grinned.

"I mean, why else would you be needed for the quest?" he said, shrugging.

"Besides my obvious wit and charm? To be the Key," Jennifer said. "I never thought of it that way before. I guess it should have been obvious."

"Well, now you have the First Power," Nabooru said. "What do you intend to do next?"

"Um, well, we were sorta just making this up as we go along."

* * *

**So… Jennifer is the Key. I don't know about you, but I thought it was pretty obvious by now, so rather than having some big clichéd reveal at the end, I just revealed it now. A little anticlimactic, but if I had waited any longer, I think it would have been just plain stupid. Besides, her being the Key comes into even more play later on (duh). Well, I thought it worked pretty well. What do you guys think? PUT IT IN A REVIEW! Seriously, I've had over 250 hits, and only 15 reviews... it makes me kinda sad. Remember, reviews work wonders for an author's morale! Reviews equals Reader Love equals Faster Updates.**

**Before I go, "uña y carne" is a Spanish expression meaning something along the lines of inseparable. As a student studying Spanish for, oh, about 7 years now (Dios mío, has it been that long?), I tend to do that. But I'm a blonde, white girl (yep, I'm a guera), so I'm still horribly self-conscious about my Spanish speaking ability… sometimes I feel like I'm disgracing the language. But I think it's totally cool you're Portuguese, EmeraldDestiny! Portuguese is sorta like Spanish... and Italian... and a little like French... and a hint like English. All the languages sorta overlap. You know what I mean. ;) All I have to say is, thank God for cognates, 'cause that's where half my Spanish vocabulary comes from.**

**Later, gators.**

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	8. Six Feet Over

**Thank you, Shadow Chocobo, for adding this story to your favorites and for your enthusiastic thumbs up! Yay!**

**And thank you to all of my reviewers. Your awesome reviews made me feel so warm and fuzzy, I worked extra hard on my studying for finals. I am not the studying type, so this is big. HUGE. As Jack Nicholson once said, "you make me want to be a better (wo)man." Or something like that.**

**I know it took me a little longer to update this time around, but the truth is I had 5 finals this past week, and by Friday, my brain had imploded. Every time I tried to type out this chapter, it turned out like crap. So, I took a couple days to chill and slowly piece my head back together, and then finished this. Sorry it took so long… but hopefully it was worth it.**

* * *

Chapter Eight:

"Six Feet Over"

The Mordeth stood stock still in the darkness of the night. It seemed to be waiting, or watching, for something. Nothing, not even the animals of the night, made a sound. It was unnaturally silent. The creature didn't even breathe. Suddenly, the Hand of the Shadows gave a low, primordial growl. It seemed to be pleased. Then, its roar pierced the night, cutting through the stillness like a knife. It turned around, eyes glowing a bloodthirsty red as it charged—

Jennifer woke with a start, breathing heavily. She could still hear the roar ringing in her ears. She looked around. She and Eric were camped on the banks of Zora's River that flowed from the Gerudo's Valley to Lake Hylia. And there were no Mordeths to be found. Jennifer calmed herself down, taking deep breaths and swallowing hard.

The sun was just beginning to rise. Jennifer was no morning person, but after seeing the Mordeth she couldn't go back to sleep. She scrambled out of her bedroll and glanced at their dead fire. She could see her breath; it was the cold of early morning. Jennifer hastily put on breeches and her warmest jacket.

She glanced over at Eric, still fast asleep in a bedroll across the fire from hers. Jennifer blinked and thought of him. He is my Protector. That, to her, seemed weird. But she was glad for his company. After all, he was the only one who got her jokes. And he managed to smooth over the problems she created with her big mouth. He was cute, too. That certainly helped.

Jennifer sighed and started to stretch. She began practicing the hand-to-hand moves she had learned from Link in order to warm herself up. They were mostly defensive maneuvers; after all, she had a Protector who was supposed to do most of the fighting for her.

Speaking of her Protector, he himself groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes. He didn't see Jennifer in her bedroll and quickly looked around for her. He finally rested his eyes on her and relaxed. Jennifer thought that he was really taking his role seriously. Because it was fate, or for something else entirely, Jennifer wasn't sure.

"I hope I didn't wake you up," Jennifer said softly.

"No, no you didn't. I'm a morning person anyway."

Jennifer frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing. Where are you from?" she asked, tilting her head questioningly.

Eric raised a brow at the sudden question. "Uh, Los Angeles."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Jennifer smiled lopsidedly. "That's pretty cool," she said earnestly. He grinned back at her.

"What about you?"

"Oceanside." She paused. "Do you miss home?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sometimes."

"Yeah, me, too. Especially now," Jennifer said, hint of longing in her voice. "I wonder what my sister would think of me now." Her eyes crinkled wistfully, looking blankly at their lifeless fire.

"What's her name?"

"Ashley. She's 16." Jennifer shook her head. "She's so much better than I was at that age, though. I gave Mom and Dad a lot of grief. But she's a good kid. I don't know where I went wrong." Jennifer smiled, eyes sparkling. Eric couldn't help but smile back.

"You're lucky you're the oldest. I have an older brother and sister. Scott and Melissa. They've both graduated from college already."

"Wow. You're the baby," Jennifer teased.

"Yeah, well, not anymore. Scott's married off and everything. I have a little nephew, Jake. He's the baby," he trailed off, voice full of love. Jennifer didn't know exactly why, but she was positive he must be the best uncle in the world.

"I wouldn't be so sure," she said cheekily. Eric smiled indulgently and took out his sword to practice with.

As Jennifer relit the fire, she watched Eric execute some intricate maneuvers with his sword. He really was quite graceful, and looking at him Jennifer was glad Destiny had chosen Eric.

----------

They packed up and saddled Chez and Fae. Jennifer and Eric started following river down, keeping its banks in sight as they walked the horses through the trees. Nabooru told them that this was the best route to get to Kokiri Forest. She said to follow Zora's River to Lake Hylia and then turn east. It was the long way around, but they didn't have much choice if they wanted to avoid the Hands.

They emerged from the forest near a large castle. The water of the lake was beautiful and clear, the sun glinting off the water surrounded on all sides by a sheer cliff face. The lake had an island in the middle, connected by a long bridge to a smaller island and then to the mainland near the castle. Jennifer stared out along the lake's blue expanse. The city girl in Jennifer gazed in awe at how beautiful and natural everything was.

It was getting late and they decided to stop there for the night. They tethered Chez and Faedra to a tree and unsaddled them. Chez whinnied happily as Jennifer rubbed him down, and Eric began to set up camp.

As Eric went in search of firewood, Jennifer stripped and jumped into the clear water of the lake. The cool water sent shivers up her spine, but Jennifer didn't mind. She swam around for a while, feeling the dirt and troubles slide off.

"I'm on my way back," Eric called.

"Alright, just a sec," Jennifer said, before sliding out of the water and into some clothes. Eric walked up with a bundle of wood in his arms and began to set up a fire. Jennifer shivered happily as she sat by the fire wrapped in her blanket.

"Cold?" Eric asked, misinterpreting her shiver.

"No, I'm cool."

"No, _I'm_ cool. You're okay."

Jennifer smiled at him. He was so cute.

Abruptly, she tensed up. Her senses were screaming that something wasn't right.

"What? What is it?" Eric asked, concerned.

"Something's… weird…" Jennifer said distractedly. She stood up, looking around. She spotted Chez and Faedra shifting uncomfortably tied to the tree. That does it, Jennifer thought, animals always know when something's wrong.

Eric slowly stood up next to her. Jennifer was acting strange, but he didn't sense anything wrong like she seemed to. He thought that they would be safe near the lake. He wouldn't have stopped here if he didn't think that.

Suddenly, they heard a low growl. Eric rushed for his sword as Jennifer turned towards the gap that separated Lake Hylia from the Field. A Mordeth stood there menacingly, eyes glowing with bloodlust.

The creature charged as Eric ran back to Jennifer's side, sword in hand. He immediately put himself between the monster and Jennifer, preparing for its assault. As the Mordeth reached Eric, it pulled out a flaming sword and struck. The sword had come from nothing; it was an extension of the Hand's thick arm. Eric wasn't expecting this and scrambled to block its attack. The Mordeth's sword spit fire as it collided with Eric's. Jennifer watched this with horror and ran back to Chez to pull out her bow and arrows from her saddlebag. She cursed; she shouldn't have stood frozen while Eric battled the monster. She took her bow in shaking fingers and forced herself to relax. She didn't want to be so nervous as to hit Eric.

Jennifer took a deep breath and felt suddenly calmer. She had to do this to save her and Eric's lives. She strung the bow quickly and notched an arrow.

Eric and the Mordeth exchanged blows. The creature was nearly twice as tall and twice as wide as Eric, and so had a height and strength advantage. But because Eric was much smaller, he was also much quicker, and he managed to dodge most of the creature's strikes. He rolled between the Mordeth's legs and Jennifer took the opportunity to bury an arrow in the creature's torso. She quickly notched another arrow, only to look up and witness the Mordeth swing its arms in frustration as Eric dug his sword in the creature's back.

But this still didn't kill the creature. Eric's sword was still buried into the Mordeth's back as it swung around angrily and struck Eric in the chest with its free fist. Jennifer watched as Eric flew backwards and landed on his back. He didn't get back up again.

The Mordeth smiled, satisfied, and started making its way over to Eric, who had begun to stir. But Eric didn't have a weapon; his sword was still in the creature's backside. Hoping to distract it, Jennifer loosed another arrow, hitting the Mordeth's shoulder. It howled in pain before turning to Jennifer. Recognition blazed in its eyes. It shuffled wildly over to her as she shot it twice more, nearly missing both times, her hands were shaking so much. Eric crawled to his feet and scrambled over to the Mordeth. Jennifer continued to distract it, but it was now too close to shoot. She pulled out a dagger and threw it at the creature, who stuck its sword in front of his face to deflect the knife.

Jennifer turned to grab another dagger, but the Mordeth was too close. It grabbed her by the throat and held her up with satisfaction plastered to its face.

"The Key," it whispered maniacally, as Eric approached from behind.

In one fluid motion, Eric pulled out his sword from the creature and shoved it back in so forcefully that it pierced through the other side. The Mordeth looked down as its vile, dark blood spilled to the ground. It dropped Jennifer and crumpled over. Jennifer turned and vomited as the creature writhed horribly and died.

Before Eric could pull out his blood-soaked sword, the Mordeth turned to ash and disappeared into the Sacred Realms. Eric's sword clanked to the ground, but he didn't give it a second thought. He kneeled over Jennifer as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

She nodded quickly and noticed that Eric looked pale and sweat-soaked. They were both pale and sweat-soaked.

"Are you alright?" she said.

"Yeah, I'm cool," he said and smiled, still catching his breath.

He straightened up and winced.

"Hey, are you sure?" Jennifer asked, concerned.

"Yeah." But when he leaned over to pick up his sword he winced again.

Jennifer stood up and said, "Okay, I saw that. Where does it hurt?" She led him over to the fire and sat him down. He pointed to his stomach.

Jennifer made him lean back as she pulled up his shirt. There was a large round bruise above his abdomen, where the Mordeth punched him. The bruise was a sickly purple about the size of his head. The line between Jennifer's brows deepened.

"Is your breathing okay?" she asked. She didn't know much about medicine, but she had broken enough bones to know that it hurt like a bitch to do the simplest things.

"Yeah, mostly," he murmured, surprised that she didn't even bat an eye as she pressed on his chest to check for broken bones. He knew that if he had to press on her chest he would be blushing furiously, but Jennifer was all business.

She scowled at his response. He was doing the guy thing, not admitting how much pain he was really in. Eric had managed to hide his hurt when Jennifer touched his bruise pretty well, but she wasn't convinced. She felt the bones of his rib cage. There. Eric sucked his breath in painfully.

"I think something's broken," she said worriedly, glad for her crash course on first aid from Impa. "Just stay here."

She sighed and went to grab a bottle of healing potion the apothecary had given her. They had a limited supply, so she made Eric drink only enough to repair the bone. By morning, he should be back to normal. He sputtered about wasting the potion but Jennifer insisted. He wasn't going to pull that 'I'm cool' stuff on her. She couldn't stand the thought of him being in pain.

The bruise faded slightly as Jennifer went to put the potion away. Eric tucked his shirt back in and picked up his sword to clean it. He ran a cloth up and down the blade silently as Jennifer relit the fire and sat across from him.

Jennifer thought about the fight. Eric didn't hesitate at all in putting himself between her and the Mordeth. She should have been quicker to act; she should have done something instead of standing around like a useless chit.

"Jen?" Eric said quietly. "Thanks for saving me."

Jennifer looked up, startled.

"Eric, _you_ saved _me_."

He smiled softly.

"So we're even."

* * *

**I hope my first fight scene went pretty well. I tried my best. Yea or nay? Let me know.**

**Yes, Chocobo (awesome name), I have read Sabriel, but I didn't really notice my Hands were similar to those ones until now. I guess I can't help but be inspired by brilliant works. The reason I named them Hands was because 1) I'm not very creative with names (Shadows? Protector? Powers? Insert eye roll here) and 2) their purpose is to serve the Shadows, be their minions, their hands, so to speak. So now you know. ;)**

**Anyhoo, don't forget to review! I love you all!**

**Over and out,**

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	9. Is This Just Fantasy?

**I'm baaaaaaaaaack! God, that took foreverrrrrr. I hope everyone had a happy holidays and new year! I know I did (wink wink). It took me a long time to drag my lethargic butt off the couch after all the mashed potatoes and ham and little chocolates from my advent calendar and apple spice cake and apple cider and wine (ummm, I didn't tell you that) and my little sister's delicious cooking settled into my bowl full of jelly, to sit at my computer, and type out this chapter. Sowwy it took so long.**

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Chapter Nine:

"Is This Just Fantasy?"

"So, what was life like for you? You know, back in our, um, world?"

"Good, I guess." Jennifer sighed. "Normal."

"Tell me about it." Eric smiled and continued, "I thought the hardest thing in life was passing the bio midterm. I was wrong."

"What's your major?"

"Education, with a minor in Literature." He smiled. "I want to be an English teacher."

Jennifer couldn't suppress a grin as she blurted, rather unintentionally, "You'd be a great teacher."

Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean, you're patient, that's for sure, and you're nice…" She colored a little and looked down. "I dunno… I can just imagine you being a teacher." Jennifer ran an embarrassed hand through her hair.

"What about you?"

"Marketing," she said, glad for the change of subject. "I know, really boring, but I really want to go into advertising."

"Well, you're definitely witty enough," Eric quipped. Jennifer detected a bit of mockery in his voice and raised her eyebrows at him with false indignation and true astonishment.

They locked eyes and broke out in happy grins. At that moment, it felt as though they weren't the Key and the Protector anymore; they were just Jennifer and Eric.

It was then that the Lost Woods shot up. The forest had abruptly changed from light and sunny to dark and moody. The trees behind them were spread apart while the trees in the Lost Woods were so close together it was almost impossible to walk between them. It was strange. The forest they were traveling in just suddenly became the Lost Woods.

"Well, I guess this is the Lost Woods," Eric said.

"Good going, Sherlock," Jennifer said, dismounting. Chez whinnied slightly and Jennifer stroked his muzzle. She grabbed his reins and pulled him gently forward.

"What do we do now? The horses can't fit through these trees. And I am not leaving Chezzer behind," Jennifer said.

"Well," Eric mused. "I suppose it's late enough that we could just camp out here and tackle the Woods in the morning. Who knows? Maybe your spidey sense will come back."

"Okay, but for the record, these Lost Woods give me the creeps."

"Me, too."

----------

Jennifer stood in the Temple of Time near Destiny. Destiny floated tranquilly a few feet above the air, as was her custom. Through the windows, the stars hung in the sky sadly as they looked over the Castle Town. Everything was dark and morose. An inky veil of haze shrouded everything, dulling the colors and sentiments splashed across the town. Jennifer reached out, teasing the milky smoke with her fingers. It swirled and dissipated around her hand as Destiny sighed and looked to Jennifer.

"Here to 'guide' me?" Jennifer said acrimoniously.

"_I am here to help you, yes_."

"Well, _that's_ good news." Jennifer was being snarky and she knew it. So did Destiny. The woman sighed again, this time more resigned.

"_I thought you may want to know how Hyrule fares_."

"Alright, fill me in."

"_The Hands attack the castle in droves_," Destiny said. "_They do not stop, but, fortunately, they have not organized again. If they were to attack all at once, I do not know if they would survive_."

"How's Zelda and Link?" Jennifer whispered.

Destiny looked at her.

"_Zelda is fine. She is a great queen to her people. Link is fine as well. He is the Hero of Time_—"

"I could have pulled that out of my ass, too," Jennifer said impudently. "How are they _really_?"

Destiny shook her head at Jennifer's cheek, and answered, "_Zelda tries her hardest to keep her people hopeful, though she has a fragile hope herself. Link channels his anger on the Hands of the Shadows. He wants to fight all them himself, but Zelda knows better_."

Jennifer bit her lip. "I see."

"_Nothing is as bad as it seems. Zelda and Link are fated to endure many trials and tribulations before they can reach peace. This is merely a tribulation for them. Whether or not they endure, they will achieve peace_."

"Peace, as in death? No, no, I won't accept that."

"_Or peace as in life, Jennifer. The future has not yet come to pass. Do not pass judgment on it already. There is always time_," Destiny said gently.

Jennifer looked sorrowfully to the floor. "Time, my ass," she said derisively. "It doesn't feel like your helping me, Des. All I'm getting from you is crappy news."

"_I am helping you. You need news from Hyrule, whether you like the news or not. And, I am going to help you into the Lost Woods. That is where you are, correct_?"

"Yeah. They aren't called the Lost Woods for nothing, huh? Is there a path, or something?"

"_Of course. You must go to the northwest point of the Woods. There is a path under the trees. Cross a wooden bridge and you shall be in Kokiri Forest_."

Jennifer smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Des," she said.

"_That is not the only reason I brought you here_." She paused, searching for the right words. She shook her head as if to clear it and said, "_Imagine how surprised I was to see myself guiding you! I myself am never actually involved in the plights of the Destiny-chosen. But you are different_." She smiled, eyes dancing. "_I will always be there to guide you, even if you cannot see me. Remember that. You will not see me for some time, but that does not mean I do not see you, or still guide you_."

Jennifer could not read her tone or her expression, but it comforted her nonetheless. Having Destiny on her side made her feel better. Well, as much as anybody's side Destiny could be on.

"Thank you," Jennifer whispered, and she meant it, making Destiny smile. On any lesser woman, it would have been a grin.

"_It is all I can do. Fare thee well, Jennifer_," Destiny said tenderly just before Jennifer faded out of consciousness.

----------

Jennifer woke groggily to two very concerned sapphire eyes looking down at her. Eric. Jennifer realized only after his brows nearly disappeared into his hairline that she had breathed his name out loud. Pretty lasciviously, too. Lusty, even.

Jennifer quickly bit back her tongue to prevent anything else from inadvertently escaping her lips. She squirmed uncomfortably in her bedroll, unable to meet those blue eyes. How did Eric manage to make her lose all control over her tongue? Well, that thought went straight to the gutter, and it was all Jennifer could do to prevent herself from turning as red as a brick. Good thing she wasn't much of a blusher. Much. Stupid boys and stupid hormones. And stupid boys.

Jennifer snapped her treacherous train of thought back to the present situation as Eric opened his mouth to speak, having caught on to her discomfiture and graciously trying to pretend he didn't. Jennifer was pleased to note that the worry in his voice had returned, albeit only slightly. Mostly, it was just affected levity.

"Took you long enough," Eric said.

"Sorry. I was visiting Destiny."

"What? You saw Destiny?"

"Yeah. We had a little chat," Jennifer said, sitting up with great effort. She could feel the beginnings of a headache, her temples pounding like a drum. "I guess the Goddesses' gift was that I'm psychic or something. Lucky me."

"What did she say?" Eric began lighting the fire.

Jennifer got up and yawned. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and said, "The Hands are still attacking the castle. Zelda and Link aren't doing so hot." She heaved a sigh and added, a little more brightly, "And she told me how to get through the Woods."

Eric perked up then. Jennifer grabbed a pan and placed a strip of fish meat in it absently.

"Man, when I get home, I'm so totally going to eat a pasta meal or twenty," she grumbled.

"How?"

"Uh, by going to that little Italian restaurant on the corner—what is it? Mama D's—and ordering the bottomless pasta bowl." She licked her lips longingly. "Mmmm…"

Eric shook his head, smiling. "No, I mean, how do you get through the Lost Woods?"

"Oh." Jennifer shrugged, forcing the very tempting thought of Italian food out of her mind. "We have to go to the northwest part of the Woods. Apparently, there is a path there," she said. Jennifer held the pan over the fire, meat sizzling angrily.

"Cool." Eric began packing up the bedrolls and strapping them the Chez and Fae while Jennifer cooked breakfast. She sat by the fire, staring idly out into the forest as Eric approached.

"What's that smell?" Eric sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Are you trying to cook?"

Jennifer snapped back to reality. "What? Yeah."

Eric crouched down near the fire.

"Hot damn," he said. "What did you do to the poor fish? It smells funky."

Sure enough, the strip of fish meat started to turn black around the edges, the bizarre smell wafting up towards their nostrils. Wasn't that how fish were supposed to cook? Didn't they always smell weird? Jennifer frowned.

"Hey. I don't need your sass."

"Do me a favor, Jen. Don't ever try to cook again."

----------

In order to get to the path into the Lost Woods, Jennifer and Eric had to ride along the edge of the forest. They spent the whole ride on high alert, careful of any Hands lurking near the forest. The two were relieved when they finally reached the path into the Lost Woods without any resistance. They turned onto the path and looked from side to side. Dark leaves hung over the path. The foliage was so think that no sunlight reached the forest floor. Jennifer couldn't help but think how dark and foreboding the Woods were.

They crossed the wooden bridge as Destiny had instructed. The path in the Woods could not have been natural, yet everything indicated it to be that way. The trees grew so that one could not leave the path. The edge was perfectly straight where the trees shot up from the ground.

They were both excited to get to Kokiri Forest. They had been told, by Link especially, how wonderful the Kokiri were. The children never grew up as long as they lived there. It made Jennifer and Eric smile as they anticipated meeting the Kokiri children.

Jennifer and Eric walked Chez and Fae eagerly through the path into Kokiri Forest, but when they reached the clearing, their jaws dropped. Everything was deserted.

Jennifer's heart sunk in her chest. There were no Kokiri in sight. Dark smoke rose from the little Kokiri houses, assaulting Jennifer's nose and sinking heavily in her lungs. It smelt like burnt wood and flesh. Jennifer coughed angrily. Her eyes watered, but whether it was from the smoke or the sadness, she didn't know.

Silence reigned over the clearing. The only sound was the rustling of the grass underneath the horses' hooves and the howling of the wind through the empty, still smoldering houses. Jennifer looked down and noticed with disgust that small drops of blood were smeared on the peridot grass.

Jennifer and Eric dismounted, horrified, and began to walk around the clearing, boots thudding softly on the grass. Eric peeked inside some of the homes, finding nothing except blackened walls and upturned furniture.

Jennifer knelt down in the grass, picking up a small white flower that had somehow escaped destruction. Its petals fanned bravely, small and pure against Jennifer's fingers. It defied the pull of the wind as Jennifer lifted it to her face, breathing in its sweet scent.

Tears jumped to Jennifer's eyes. The Kokiri. They were only children. Who would do such a thing? Jennifer felt Eric come up behind her. She turned towards him, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Eric looked at her with saddened eyes.

"Who would do this?" he whispered.

Jennifer could only silently shake her head, not trusting her voice.

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**See? Not a very nice chapter. TEAR. Poor Kokiri. Sorry, guys, I had to do it. It took me quite a while to get that last part just right. 'Cause it's so sad and all. Am I ruining the mood?**

**To my sole (sole? No, baby, you got SOUL) reviewer for this chapter, the Shadow Chocobo– ****Thank you! And you're welcome! Actually, I didn't know what chocobos were until you mentioned they ruled your life, so I went to Wikipedia (best site evah) and found out they actually existed (well, sort of). I've never played Final Fantasy, so… I thought you just made that up. Oops. My bad. I still think it's cool, though. And I love that you love Jen and Eric together; them as a couple make me squee. I love love LOVE knowing my readers are rooting for them just as much as I am. Huzzah for fluff!**

…**Er, I really should use that review reply e-mail thing instead of my A/N's to respond to reviews, shouldn't I? Part of it is because I myself like responses to my reviews in the chapters, but mostly it's because I'm just lazy. I just can't click on one stupid button, oh no! Speaking of which, where are my reviewers! Please, guys, just press that stupid little button in the bottom corner and make my day! And I don't mean it in a Dirty Harry way, I mean it sincerely, from the bottom of my heart. Your reviews make my day, truly.**

**Thanks for stopping by,**

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	10. Forever Young

**Oh Good God, it's been FOREVER since I updated this. 'Egads, I'm so sorry guys. I must have hit an inspiration dry spell back there. I would have excuses, but I really don't feel like coming up with any right now.**

**Well, lately I've been having little bursts of inspiration here and there, so hopefully I'll be getting more stuff up in a more timely fashion.**

**_A/N addition (1/25/06): Whoops! I've just committed the mother of all mistakes… I posted the wrong version of this chapter! Ahhhhhh! It's author Hell! Ahhhhhhh!_**

_**So, hopefully, this version is much better than the original. Much, much better. Really, I hated the original compared to this one. I still can't belive I posted the wrong one… I'll be kicking myself for days now :sigh:**_

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Chapter Ten:

"Forever Young"

The wind blew restlessly across the clearing. It rustled Jennifer's hair, whipping it across her face and ripping the little white flower in her grasp. It howled in Jennifer's ears, but she barely heard it. All of her senses were numb. She could barely feel the brackish cold of the tear streaming down her cheek, the warmth of Eric's strong hand in hers. He wiped the tear from her face, but Jennifer hardly noticed that, either. Her body slowly tingled with the power of her sixth sense. She could feel the presence of something in the Forest. Her sixth sense nudged her forward, pitching her into a walk towards a small opening at the other side of the clearing.

"What is it? Jen?" Eric asked softly.

When she didn't answer him, he said, "Spidey sense tingling again?"

Jennifer noiselessly nodded without turning back to look at him. He followed at a distance as Jennifer continued to walk to the opening. She leaned down and passed through the aperture, entering another clearing. A giant, ancient tree stood in the middle. Its branches hung down sadly, so low that the leaves touched the ground. A vaguely human face on its trunk peered sorrowfully through the leaves; its eyes sparkled with anguish. Jennifer stepped under the hanging branches and into the ring of leaves the old tree created. Eric had come up to stand just behind Jennifer, close enough to give her comfort.

Jennifer wasn't too surprised when the tree spoke.

"I am the Great Deku Tree," it said. Its voice was old and deep, and seemed to echo through the clearing. "Who art thou?"

"I'm Jennifer, and this is Eric," she said, more calmly than she felt. "What happened here?"

"The Hands of the Shadows hath attacked," it said mournfully. "They razed our homes and took some of the children. Nearly all, thankfully, were able to escape into the Lost Woods."

"Why take the children?" Eric asked.

"I do not know," the Great Deku Tree rasped.

"When did the Hands do this?" Jennifer whispered.

"Naught but two nights ago," it answered, heaving a sigh. "But I need thou to deliver a message for me." The tree struggled for breath, dark, tainted leaves pulsing erratically with each gasp.

"Of course. What is it?" Jennifer said.

"I am dying, young ones. The Hands could not defeat me outright, so they hath infected me with Shadow blood to take me slowly. Their blood poisonous, because it comes from the deepest pits of death." The Great Deku Tree breaths came in short bursts as it said, "Tell the queen… tell the queen what I hath told thou. Tell her that… that the Hands have organized again to strike the Kokiri. They had taken… taken the Second Power."

"What? They've taken the Second Power?" Jennifer asked anxiously.

Eric walked closer to the Deku Tree and said, "Where did they take it?"

"I do not know." The Deku Tree was panting now. "Please," it said. "Please give the queen my message."

"Yes, we will," Jennifer whispered.

The Great Deku Tree gave a small smile and closed its eyes. Its branches sagged, leaves shaking as it took its final breath. Jennifer brought up a hand to cover her mouth as Eric came up and put an arm around her. Another gust of wind blew through the clearing, rustling the leaves of the Great Deku Tree and yanking the little white flower from Jennifer's grasp.

----------

"What do we do now?" Jennifer whispered across the fire.

They were camped where the path into the Kokiri Forest met the Lost Woods. Neither of them could stand being in the clearing anymore. It felt too much like loss.

Eric sighed and shrugged. He rubbed his temples and said, "I guess we have to go to the Third Power."

"But we can't just skip the Second Power," Jennifer said.

"We don't really have a choice right now, unless you suggest we go tearing after the Hands." It came out harsher than he intended.

Jennifer looked at her feet.

"Sorry I made the suggestion," she said resentfully. She looked up at him, eyes burning with anger.

Eric's eyes hardened. "That's not what I meant."

"Whatever you say, Protector." She spit out the word like poison and turned to roughly pound her bedroll flat on the ground. He heaved a very aggravated sigh over the crackling of the fire, making Jennifer's temper flare up more than words ever could.

"Oh, don't _sigh_ at me like that," she growled venomously.

"Well, how do you want me to _sigh_ at you?" Eric retorted.

"Stop treating me like a child!"

"Well, maybe if you stopped acting like a child."

"Well, maybe if you stopped acting like my father! Seriously, can you be any _more_ overprotective! I thought you were supposed to _protect_ me, not _suffocate_ me!"

That one hit close to home. Hurt flicked across Eric's eyes as he angrily threw himself in his bedroll, turning over so his back faced her. Jennifer huffily lay down as well, fuming.

----------

Jennifer sat next to Zelda on the balcony of the queen's room. They looked out towards the Castle Town. Everything was silent and dark. No lights showed through the windows of the houses. No animal dared to cut through the oppressive silence of the night. The queen looked sad, though she put on a brave face as she turned to smile tenderly at Jennifer.

"The gifts of the Goddesses work in mysterious ways," she said. "I never expected clairvoyance. It seems more like a burden than a gift."

"So far it's been pretty helpful. It warned me about the Mordeth," Jennifer said sulkily. "Though I didn't know it at the time."

"It takes time to become accustomed to," Zelda said with a soft smile. She frowned thoughtfully when Jennifer slumped in her chair, arms crossed. "What is wrong?"

Jennifer waved a hand in front of her face. "Nothin'," she mumbled.

Zelda looked incredulously at her, lips pursed. Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"It's just… you don't think I'm childish, do you, Zelda?"

"You and Eric had a fight?" By the surprised look in Jennifer's eyes, Zelda received her answer.

"I told him he was suffocating me." Jennifer frowned. "He looked pretty hurt. I shouldn't have said it… he's just looking out for me."

Zelda smiled knowingly. "We never mean the words we say in anger. Eric will understand." After Jennifer shrugged diffidently, silence reigned. Zelda waited a few moments for her words to sink in.

"So, how goes your quest?" she asked.

Jennifer bit her lip. "I have good news and some… bad news."

Zelda looked at her, expression unreadable.

"Good news is we have the First Power."

"That is good news," Zelda said, only partly relieved.

"The bad news—Zelda, I—" Jennifer paused, collecting her thoughts. "We reached Kokiri Forest today. I—everything was destroyed, Zelda. The Hands had come just two days before us and they—they burned down their homes and took the children—" It all spilled out of her so quickly; Jennifer had barely taken a breath. "And—and they killed the Great Deku Tree and, oh, Zelda, they took the Second Power."

Zelda took this all in, staring out onto the Castle Town. She looked deeply saddened for the moment, before turning to Jennifer.

"How the tides of war change quickly," she said. Jennifer stared at her shoes. Zelda breathed deeply and said, "This saddens me greatly. The Great Deku Tree was one of the oldest and wisest inhabitants of this land." She closed her eyes momentarily, brows creased.

Finally, she continued, "And the loss of the Second Power is great. We must recover it."

"How? Zelda, I—"

"You and Eric will not go after the Second Power," the queen directed. Jennifer was taken aback; Zelda never interrupted anybody.

"We will find it, Jennifer. You must continue on your journey," Zelda said.

Jennifer nodded. "I don't even understand how they got a hold of the Power. I mean, I'm the only one who can touch them," she said.

"The power of evil always finds a way. The Five Powers are, in the end, just that: Powers. As long as the Key can be handled, anything with the proper amount of power, whether good or evil, can handle the Powers as well. It is all about balance."

"Then how come they've never been found before? If they are so powerful, obviously all the unsavory characters of this land must have wanted to get their hands on them?" Jennifer asked.

"As I said, Jennifer, it is all about balance. The Powers only tend to appear when they are most needed to maintain that balance. The threat we face is clearly powerful enough to require the Powers to counter its evil," Zelda said, tone expressionless. "But there is a difference between handling and controlling. Only the Key may active the Powers. Without the Key, they cannot be controlled, merely handled, so there is still time."

Jennifer sighed and the two women stared out onto the horizon for a long time. Both of their minds were wholly occupied with similar troubles. Finally, Jennifer broke the silence.

"So, how's Link?" she asked.

Zelda smiled indulgently.

"He is fine. He is frustrated with the Hands." Zelda came as close to rolling her eyes as Jennifer had ever seen her. "He thinks he can destroy them single-handedly, and I am forced to dispel those notions."

Jennifer smiled faintly. "That's sounds like him." She paused. "Look, Zelda… thanks."

"For what?"

"I dunno… everything. Just… thanks. You always seem to make me feel better."

"I am glad that I can help. You are a true friend, Jennifer."

Jennifer was touched. "You, too. You're a really great friend."

The two women smiled at each other as Jennifer felt herself float away.

* * *

**So, the Second Power has been stolen… hmm… what will happen now?**

**Is it just me, or is the Great D. Tree really hard to write with all the "thee" and "thou"-ing going on? Must be me. And I'm really liking Zelda here, I don't know about you guys… so, let me know what you think!**

**I've had 625 hits! Woohoo! But… only 24 reviews. :( That's like… well, let's see… my math skillz aren't so good… that's like 4! It that it? The judges are reviewing… yep, that's it. 4 freakin' percent. That means 96 of you aren't reviewing… or don't care enough to review. And I was starting to wonder why I was feeling less than enthused about this fic… Please, guys, I need SOME feedback.**

**Thank you for riding the Guilt Trip, have a nice day!**

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	11. High Quality H2O

**Okay, new chappie. I took another train ride home this weekend, my first in over two months. It really spurred me into action, let me tell you. This is the fruit of my labor, a much more upbeat, hopefully funny chapter.**

**It's official: my reviewers ROCK. Seriously, you guys are awesome. I was in a weird funk when I posted the last chapter, and that's why I was throwing myself a pity party. Then you guys swooped in and made me feel ten times better! Thank you! You all are amazing.**

**Thank you Liquid Earth for reminding me I was indeed on your favorites. Sometimes I get down on myself and forget that people actually do read this and I despair. But your comment (which, in my head, sounded exactly like my grandma admonishing me for acting like a sulky child o.O) snapped me out of that like a boot to the head. You may not have intended it that way, but I thank you. I needed that.**

**And big thank you to sourapple10000, JustWriter2 (what up, fellow Brittany :P), Lizai, Princess Kira Lady of Element, SageOfTheMinish, Super Becki, and rissa. Really, y'all rock my socks.**

**And before I forget, last time I posted the wrong version of the chapter, so if you read the wrong version, you might want to check out the newer, less craptacular one. I changed a lot of things, and all in all, it's just plain better. God, I still can't believe I posted the wrong one… .:facepalm:.**

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Chapter Eleven:

"High Quality H2O"

Jennifer woke with the now familiar beginnings of a headache. Stupid gift, she thought. Eric was still asleep. She worried her lip, wondering how she was going to smooth things over. Jennifer struggled out of her bedroll and walked to Chez.

"Hey, Chezzie," she whispered as she stroked his nose. He laid a large brown eye on her, making Jennifer smile. "Well, at least you still like me. How come I always manage to mess things up, hm?" She snuck a look at Eric's sleeping form.

Jennifer absently ran her fingers through Chez's mane. One of his ears flicked back as Jennifer dug the First Power out of her saddlebag. She studied it for a moment as Eric stirred.

"Whatcha looking at?" he asked sleepily. He rolled out of bed and walked over to her side.

"The First Power," she replied. "It's amazing that such a small, ugly rock can cause such a stir." She turned guiltily towards Eric. "Sorry about—about last night. I shouldn't have—"

"Don't worry about it," he interjected. "I'm sorry, too. We both said things we didn't mean." He laid a hand on Chez and looked apologetically into Jennifer's eyes. Jennifer nodded mutely, only serving to make her head pound. Silence settled between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable; there was nothing else to say. That is, until Eric decided to break it.

"_I would say I'm sorry if I thought that it would change your mind_…" he sang softly, not even trying to stay in tune.

Jennifer reached out to pinch him, effectively cutting him off.

"Don't start singing," she groaned. "And you called me childish…"

"_But I know that this time_—"

Jennifer took a swipe at him, but he ducked it easily, grinning relentlessly. She used the other hand to shove him lightly.

"You're a horrible singer, about as good as I am a cook." She crossed her arms, barely containing her amusement. He looked at her like a wounded puppy, making her laugh and effectively sending a stabbing pain shooting through her head.

"Ugh, haven't the Hylians ever thought of Tylenol?" she griped, putting a hand to her temple.

"Have some healing potion," Eric said as he turned to Faedra.

"Nah, I don't want to waste it. I've got a feeling we're gonna need it."

"Sense a disturbance in the Force?"

Jennifer smiled a little. "No, I paid Zelda a little visit."

"Zelda?"

"Yeah. Remember? My 'gift.' Zelda called it clairvoyance." She added a deadpan, "Oh, joy."

"Well, what did she say?" Eric asked, absentmindedly stroking Fae's mane.

"She said that we should keep going for the Third Power. She said that she would handle it, though I don't know how she thinks she's gonna do it. She's got so much riding on her shoulders as it is."

He nodded. "I think we should just keep going, and quickly. We can't waste time."

"Yeah." Jennifer grimaced and began to saddle up Chez.

----------

Thankfully, the Kokiri Forest was close to Zora's River. Jennifer and Eric made their way along the riverbank as fast as they could, but it was difficult to maneuver. They had to get off the horses and walk most of the time, picking their way through rocks and the ubiquitous strange Hyrulian creatures.

Just as they reached the waterfall that was the source of their dreaded river, a voice rang out.

"Who passes into the Zora's Domain?" it cried.

"Oh, man, not this again," Jennifer mumbled.

"I am Eric, and this is Jennifer. We seek the Third Power," Eric said.

There was a long silence. All Jennifer and Eric could hear was the crashing of the waterfall and the sound of their own breathing.

Suddenly, the waterfall's flow lessened and revealed a watery entranceway. A blue fish-like creature stood on the lip of the opening. It was tall and thin, with fins on its limbs and a large, oval head. A Zora, apparently.

"Why do you seek the Third Power?" he—Jennifer thought it was male—asked suspiciously.

"To do the same thing we do every night, Bluey, to try and take over the world," Jennifer retorted in her best Brain impression.

The Zora looked very surprised and puzzled, to say the least.

"What she means is, we were sent by Destiny," Eric put in quickly, looking accusingly over at Jennifer. Jennifer widened her eyes and looked innocent under Eric's glare as the Zora spoke again.

"Destiny?" he asked, doubtful. "Do not play games with the Zora people, human."

"Whoa there, tuna brain, chill out. We got a club card," Jennifer said proudly. She waited patiently for the handprint to flare. After a moment, the Zora looked even more incredulous and flexed his arms threateningly. Jennifer scowled and whispered, "Now would be good, Des."

The prints on their chest blazed right on cue this time. The Zora looked stunned, and then motioned for them to enter the waterfall.

Jennifer shrugged at the capricious powers that be as Eric shook his head resignedly. They followed the Zora into a huge cavern, a vast lake lying in the middle. Light bounced off of the clear water and onto the stone surfaces and a steady _drip-drip_ echoed off the cavern walls. The water was translucent and sparkled like rhinestones where the light hit it. But it was not as peaceful as it seemed. The few Zora swimming around in the water eyed them suspiciously as Jennifer and Eric followed their original Zora to the right and up a natural path carved out of the cavern walls. Jennifer and Eric couldn't help but feel a little freaked out under the Zora's intense gazes. They had never seen fish people before and now those fish were staring at them like they were the weird ones.

"What is your name?" Eric asked the Zora civilly. Jennifer rolled her eyes. Leave it to Eric to make polite conversation.

"I am Kelno," he said proudly. "Captain of the Guards."

"I didn't know the Zora had guards," Eric declared mildly. "I was told that only nature and secret guarded the Zora's Domain."

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. Eric was up to something.

"We face a new threat more powerful than nature and secret," Kelno answered tersely. "We cannot allow the Hands to infiltrate our Domain. Our way of life would be lost."

Jennifer and Eric nodded knowingly.

"The same goes for the queen," Eric said calmly. "The way of life for the Hylians is also being lost. Same for the Gerudo and the Kokiri. This is a threat that affects all of Hyrule."

Oh, he's good, Jennifer thought, garnering support for an alliance already. She looked down when she couldn't help but smile.

Kelno looked thoughtful. Eric caught Jennifer's small smile and continued, "The way of life for all Hyrulians is being threatened. But how can we be expected to save ourselves if we are not seen as _Hyrulians_?"

Jennifer picked up on the mention of "we." So did Kelno. The Zora guard looked even more thoughtful. But before he could say anything further about it, they reached a smaller cavern, where an enormous Zora sat on top of a waterfall. Jennifer's eyes widened to take him all in. He was humongous.

Kelno bowed and said, "My liege, may I present Jennifer of—" He faltered.

"San Diego," Jennifer supplied. "And this is my companion, Eric, also of San Diego." She looked pleased with herself. Eric wasn't the only one capable of flowery words after all.

"Indeed," Kelno said. "They have come with a curious mission: to seek the Third Power."

The Zora King's eyes widened.

"The Third Power?" his voice boomed. "Why?"

"We need to collect the Five Powers," Eric replied. "It is a quest given to us by Destiny herself."

"They are Destiny touched, Majesty," Kelno added.

The King harrumphed. Then, he suddenly yelled, "Ruto!"

His voice rang in Jennifer's and Eric's ears. They looked much taken aback by his unexpected exclamation. All of the other Zora didn't, however, and a female Zora appeared next to the King's side.

"Yes, Daddy?" she asked.

Both Jennifer and Eric raised their brows. She was a beautiful—relatively speaking—Zora, all curves and shiny skin. Jennifer realized belatedly that the Zora were all naked, except for the King. She bit her lip. Oh, man.

"These humans are looking for the Third Power," the King said.

"I see," Ruto said. She jumped down from the waterfall and walked over to Jennifer and Eric.

"Your Highness, this is—" Kelno began, but Jennifer cut him off.

"Jennifer. Eric." She pointed to each of them. "San Diego. Destiny. Third Power. Can you help us?"

Ruto looked very surprised with Jennifer's shortened explanation. So did Eric; he glared reproachfully at her. Jennifer shrugged. "Not wasting time," was all she said, her tone clipped.

"Please, your Highness. We need your help," Eric said smoothly, bowing his head a little.

"I like him better," Ruto declared, making Jennifer's brows shoot up. "He is nicer." She took Eric's arm and led him away, leaving Jennifer standing agape near Kelno. She blinked.

"And cuter, too," Ruto added, leaning into him. Jennifer blinked again at that and stifled a laugh. She was hitting on him! A part of her wanted to haul off and smack the sardine, but a greater part of her found the whole situation really funny. She followed Eric and Ruto, who was still attached to his arm, around behind the King.

"We must go to Zora's Fountain," Ruto said, blinking coquettishly at Eric. He smiled politely. He looked desperately over her head at Jennifer, who simply shrugged.

"You're on your own," Jennifer mouthed amusedly. Eric looked betrayed as Ruto led him into a dark opening in the cavern. As to where it led, Jennifer could only guess.

"We must go this way," the Zora princess said. She walked with Eric into the dark opening, Jennifer following at a distance.

She lost sight of them in the darkness of the opening, but was soon hit by the full force of the sun when she emerged on the other side. Spots swam in her vision and she put a hand up to shade her face, blinking hastily to regain her eyesight.

The Fountain was surrounded on all sides by a mountain range. The water was deep and clear and flowed into a river on the northern side. Ruto gestured to an island in the middle of the Fountain.

"This way," she said and dove into the water. Jennifer and Eric hesitated, exchanging a look of obvious dismay. Eric shrugged and jumped in after her, Jennifer sparing only a second to curse islands without bridges before leaping in the freezing water. They all swam to the island, Ruto darting around like the fish she was, obviously showing off her swimming prowess. Jennifer ignored her and instead looked down at the ruins at the bottom of the Fountain, white and shining where the streaks of sunlight hit them. The island had ruins on top of it too, making Jennifer wonder how Hyrule had so many ruins in the first place.

Ruto pulled herself gracefully up onto the island, skin glistening in the sunlight. Jennifer tried to match her poise, but was only able to wiggle her way up, her mood quickly darkening. Not only was she was wet and cold, but also being upstaged shamelessly by a carp.

"I come out here a lot," Ruto said, pacing the island. "And a little while ago I noticed something that I had never seen before." She pointed to some carvings in the ruins.

"What does it say?" Eric prompted.

Ruto smiled at him. Jennifer felt repulsed.

"It says, '_The Third Power lies in the holiest of misty sights_."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jennifer exclaimed. That disapproving look was back on Eric's face, a look Jennifer was becoming very used to. She really needed to learn to bite her tongue. _After_ they left the Zora's Domain, of course.

"I do not know," Ruto said, frowning.

"I'm sick of riddles," Jennifer mumbled.

"Well," Eric said loudly. "Where is the holiest place in your Domain?"

"Lord Jabu-Jabu, of course," Ruto replied.

"Where's that?" Jennifer asked.

Ruto abruptly dove into the Fountain, leaving Jennifer and Eric staring confusedly at where the princess used to be. Seconds later, a huge fish surfaced the water, Ruto bobbing next to it.

"This is holy?" Eric asked hesitantly.

"Holy crap is more like it," Jennifer uttered under her breath.

Ruto climbed onto the rocks gracefully. "This is Lord Jabu-Jabu," she said proudly, waving a hand at their new companion.

Both Jennifer and Eric stood will their mouths agape. Lord Jabu-Jabu was even bigger than the King. It was an enormous gray fish, with beady blue eyes and a large, wide mouth. The aquatic Lord reminded Jennifer more of a barge made to look like a fish than an actual fish.

"Um, okay… what now?" Jennifer asked.

"We go inside," Ruto replied pertly.

* * *

**Alright, I'm hoping that that was a funny chapter, or at least entertaining. I'm afraid I may have been really harsh on poor Ruto, but ah, she's just so easy to slam on. And about the Zoras, I may have dissed them a little much, but that's just how Jennifer thinks. I didn't like them all that much in the beginning, either, but now I think they're pretty bomb. I'm sure Jen will come around.**

**Ta ta, lovelies, and have a great day.**

**BB**


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